NAIROBI,Kenya, Feb, 1 – Everyday at roughly 10pm, Dono Yayo, a resident of Mowlem area in Nairobi county, would call his wife….And just like clockwork seconds later, the gate leading to his home would be opened as he alighted from a bodaboda.
Its a routine that signified the end of a busy working day for a man that plied his trade as a butcher at the famous Kiamaiko slaughter house.
This past Sunday evening (January, 30,2022) however,his wife, Biftu Saar, received a strange call from his husband. During the first phone call, it appeared as if he was under duress, as heavy static interrupted their conversation. The second time however, Sarr could hear her husband loud and clear, though a slight hesitation on her part intimated that something was not right.
“…When I opened the gate, I heard the sound of gunshots, I saw a person and because I was scared I ran back home. Moments later I returned outside and a woman told me that someone was gunned down. I was fearful that it was my husband.” said a teary Sarr.
Upon arriving at the scene, just a few meters from her home, the heartbreaking news was confirmed. Yayo was dead.
“I rushed there and saw he was dead, I didn’t even have a chance to hear his last words. He was lying on his stomach and his head was deep in the ground” she said.
Yayo appeared to have been assaulted as indicated by an inflammation on his head before being killed.
“i just could not believe it, I cried and told someone to check whether he was alive and he told me he was dead,”
According to his wife and other residents, the deceased had been trailed by two police who allegedly mistook him for a thief.
Claims they further said were lies and tantamount to profiling as the alleged police officers attempted to justify their actions.
“They were saying he was a thief and that it was a case of mistaken identity, we refuse to believe that, Yayo was a good man, he had just gotten home from work, he was carrying meat and other household items which were later found at the scene,” said Ali Kudisa, the deceased’s friend.
A postmortem examination revealed that the deceased died as a result of a bullet wound after he was shot from the back. The bullet is said to have exited through his chest.
He is also said to have had sustained several head injuries.
Other residents that also spoke to Shahidi News said that the police officer that allegedly shot him dead had left the scene only for him and his colleague to return later.
“The one that killed him was a police officer. I did not see his face properly but neighbours say they saw him and know him. When he called he was not at the gate…it was like those people might have forced him to speak to me for the final time,” said Sarr.
“He was not a criminal, he was not a bad person, those that killed him were monsters there is no way about it,” Huka Boru, deceased’s father.
“The government must prove that no one is above the law, he must be arrested and justice served. Who will take care of his children and wife? he lived hand to mouth..we need justice,” said Somo Abgudo.
“My son was loved by everybody, he was a good man, he never did anything wrong to anyone, but now they have killed him yet he committed no crime,” said teary Hawo Hirbo, deceased’s mother.
This is not the first time such incidents have occurred in the area. Residents say that a section of police officers within the area operate with impunity and harass innocent civilians.
“If he was a criminal then they should have arrested him, why would they shoot him dead?,” said Jackline Moraa, an area resident who further said that, “Police were looking for the bullet on the ground, one of them was sweating, at the time,”
“The officer appeared visibly shocked, he was scared, he didn’t even speak, even when the deceased’s wife asked him why he killed his husband he remained silent,”
Residents said that Yayo was scared before his death and had attempted to escape when the police officers pursued him near his home.
He was allegedly shot by an AK-47 rifle.
Police meanwhile refused to fully comment on the matter only saying that detectives attached to the Dandora and Buruburu Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) offices have since launched a comprehensive investigation amidst public outcry over police brutality and killings.
Want to send us a story? Contact Shahidi News Tel: +254115512797 (Mobile & WhatsApp)
