ODM youth Cecil Ouma /HANDOUT
An ODM youth leader has been shot dead in a clash after an event at Kariokor Social Hall in Kamukunji subcounty in Nairobi.
Cecil Ouma was fatally shot when police tried to disperse a group that had attacked a senior government official as he left an event on Tuesday evening.
Other witnesses said Ouma had boarded the official’s car as he sought to get handouts when chaos broke out.
Another witness said the victim was among those on the PS’s car and were banging its windows to force him stop for the handouts.
The PS’ car was badly damaged in the chaos and he was forced to seek refuge at a police station.
Ouma, a former TUK university student, 28, was a youth leader in Imara ward in Embakasi area.
He was among a group of youth that had attended a youth sensitisation meeting.
Police said a group of about 100 youths surrounded the official vehicle, demanding handouts.
The crowd reportedly opened the vehicle’s doors as the driver sped off towards Dr Griffin Road, with some of the youths allegedly stealing valuables from the occupants.
During the incident, a Nokia mobile phone belonging to one of the bodyguards and another Nokia phone to a second one were reportedly stolen.
The vehicle’s rear windscreen was also smashed with stones.
The officers assigned to the official’s security detail fired warning shots into the air to disperse the crowd as patrol officers responded to the scene and prevented the youths from pursuing the convoy further.
The PS was later escorted safely to his residence by police officers.
Police arrested one suspect who is expected to be charged.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Starehe have taken over investigations into the incident.
Ouma, who was shot in the stomach three times, was rushed to Park Road Nursing Home where he was pronounced dead.
Officials at the facility said a man with gunshot wounds had been brought to the facility but later died while receiving treatment.
The body was found with two gunshot wounds to the left arm and another gunshot wound on the left side of the chest, below the breast.
Police processed the scene before the body was moved to Chiromo Funeral Home pending a post-mortem examination.
Police have launched investigations to establish the circumstances surrounding the shooting and identify those responsible.
Ouma’s colleagues rushed to the mortuary on getting news of his death. Former Embakasi MP Irshad Sumra was among those who visited the facility and condemned the shooting.
He urged for calm among Ouma’s supporters as the matter is being investigated.
“We urge our people to be calm as the police pursue this matter,” he said.
There was no immediate comment from the official over the incident.
Police said they had recorded statements from
witnesses and the officers involved in the incident as part of the probe into
the same.
