A deaf boy was shot dead by Police Officers on Thursday after they found him rummaging through garbage in a lorry in Dandora Area, Nairobi.
Residents claimed he was shot in the chest and at the back of the head.
A witness identified as James Wanjiru stated, “A police officer from Kinyago Police Station just came and started shouting at him as the other boys looked. He did not respond and immediately, the police shot him twice and he fell on the garbage.”
According to Nairobi County Police Commander Japheth Koome, the boy was one of two suspects who had robbed a woman of her purse before escaping into the dumpsite.
“They confronted a woman and robbed her of some items while armed with knives and a pistol. Police who were nearby responded but the boys ran away into the dumpsite and the police followed them and one of them who had a pistol was fatally injured,” Mr Koome highlighted.
Youth in the area, however, dismissed Koome's claims arguing that the boy was shot while scavenging for items in a garbage truck and dismissed reports that the boy was found with a pistol.
“We want an explanation to this. We want the whole world to see how the youths in Dandora are being killed by police in the name of killing criminals. What crime did a 16-year-old, deaf and unarmed boy commit?” a witness stated.
They hurled stones when police officers tried to take the victim's body but the officers dispersed them and took the body to the police.
