Families cry for justice as government delays postmortems of Saba saba victims

Rights groups have accused authorities of stalling investigations into police killings as families wait in anguish at the Nairobi Funeral Home.

Odhiambo Ojiro, a rapid response officer from Vocal Africa, said since Tuesday, they have been working closely with families of victims killed during the Saba Saba protests on Monday.

Ojiro said families of Elvis and Paul Makori were present, hoping postmortems would be conducted as agreed.

“On Tuesday, we reached an agreement with government Chief Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor that his officers would carry out the postmortems today (Wednesday),” said Ojiro. “We also coordinated with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Kangemi and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, but all of them now claim to be busy," he said.

Ojiro accused the government of deliberately delaying the process. “These families are grieving, but the government is employing delay tactics. We’ve seen this before, where delays lead to decomposition, destroying critical evidence.”

The activist referenced the June 25 demonstrations, where bodies of young men bearing gunshot wounds were later found to have exit wounds during autopsies, raising suspicion of foul play.

“This is a calculated move. If these were the President’s children or those of senior government officials, would doctors still be ‘too busy’ to act?” he asked.

Ojiro demanded justice and an end to police killings, urging authorities to act with urgency.

According to a report by the Kenya Human Rights Commission, 31 people were killed during Monday’s Saba Saba protests, with 15 from Nairobi and its environs

“The death toll is staggering. No responsible government should kill more than 30 people in one day and remain silent. We want postmortems conducted before the bodies are tampered with,” he said.

Ojirosaid despite arrangements with police leadership, the chief pathologist and Ipoa, no official assistance materialised as of Wednesday morning.

“The families arrived at 8 am. No one has helped them. Ipoa is blaming the police and the police are blaming the pathologist. If the government is blaming itself, who should the citizens turn to?” he asked.

Ojiro accused top government officials of obstructing justice. “We’re being killed by bullets bought with our own taxes. The President can’t even facilitate investigations into the deaths of his citizens," he said.

He said the President’s silence and inaction is alarming. “If you can’t do the job, resign and go home. It’s clear the young people were killed by police bullets. We just need a forensic investigation to confirm it. We demand accountability.”

Mary Wambui, whose son was shot in Kangemi, tearfully appealed for justice. “He has left behind a young wife and a six-month-old baby. Please stop killing our children,” she pleaded.

“We’ve waited at the City Mortuary since morning, as instructed. Nothing has happened. We don’t know what to do. We just want to bury our son."

Catherine Njoki, the widow of Elvis, who was shot in Kangemi while returning from work, expressed her anguish. “He was our breadwinner. I now have to raise our six-month-old child alone. He left for work and never came back. I just want justice for my husband,” she said through tears.