This archive report was first published on 11 September 2019.
On a fateful Sunday night in Kahawa West, Soweto, Nairobi, a tragic event unfolded, leaving a family shattered. Dancan Githinji, a three-year-old boy, was shot by police while they were confronting women selling chang'aa nearby.
His mother, Joyce Muthoni, and father, David Njunguna, were left to grapple with the loss of their only son, who was set to join kindergarten in January.
According to eyewitnesses, the police officers were raiding illicit brew dens, confronting women brewing chang'aa and pouring it out. A confrontation ensued between the women and the officers, who then shot several bullets in the air.
One of the bullets hit a wall, another hit Dancan, and a third narrowly missed a resident. Despite efforts to save his life, Dancan died on the way to the hospital.
His mother, still reeling from the loss, recounted the last moments of her son's life, saying, 'Our daughter keeps asking where Dan is because she last saw him lying in his blood last Sunday. Now he's not around and no one knows how to tell her anything.'
The couple is demanding that the officers be prosecuted, and Nairobi regional police commander Phillip Ndolo has confirmed that the two officers are in custody in connection with the shooting.
