The Independent Policing oversight Authority (IPOA) has launched an investigation into the shooting of Rex Kanyike Masai which happened on Thursday during the protests in Nairobi.
In a statement released on Friday, June 21 IPOA noted that it had already established contact with the deceased family after he as allegedly shot by the police. IPOA has documented the death of Mr. Rex Masai as a result of police shooting and several serious injuries suffered by protesters of the Finance Bill.
The death of Kanyike sparked outrage on social media as Kenyans demanded justice for the fallen young man who was reportedly shot and killed at about 7 pm along Moi Avenue in Nairobi during the protest against the Finance bill. An aerial video was captured the moment the victim was shot.
A group of protestors had been pushed by police from parts of Kenyatta Avenue, City Hall Way and other places, gathered outside Moi Avenue, Witnesses claimed it was then that a cop in a cap and plain clothes emerged and started to shoot at the group while dispersing them.
Rex was hit in the leg and fell on the road crying for help, a friend rushed back to help him and asked other passersby to help, From a distance they spotted police officers and requested them if they could get an ambulance to rush him to hospital as he was still alive but they allegedly told them off “let him die there”.
Rex was pronounced dead while being attended to at Bliss hospital.
Many have come out condemning the act and seeking justice, among them being Embakasi East MP Babu Owino raising concern over increasing cases of police officers wearing masks and caps to conceal their identity while undertaking official duty. “To die at the prime of ones life, fighting for a future that has been brutally snatched away by the oppressor, is a terrible price to pay,” he said on X.
