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Wandayi demands justice for Rex Kanyike following fatal shooting

"These young boys and girls were a threat to nobody, they were not a danger to peace."

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by magati obebo

Counties21 June 2024 - 18:54

In Summary


  • Speaking to the media on Friday, Wandayi said the officer responsible should immediately be brought to book once he's proven to be culpable.
  • The MP added that the death Masai is comparable to that of civil rights activist Steve Biko who was killed in South Africa in 1977.

National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi has called for swift action in the fatal shooting of a protester in Nairobi on Thursday evening.

Rex Kanyike Masai, 29, was shot and killed around 7pm along Moi Avenue during the anti-Finance Bill protests.

Kanyike was shot in the thigh area and died shotly after.

It's been alleged the fatal shot was fired by a police officer. Ipoa has commenced investigations.

The Director of Public Prosecutions on Friday directed the Indepedent Policing Oversight Authority to submit report on the shooting incident within 21 days.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Wandayi said the officer responsible should immediately be brought to book once he's proven to be culpable.

He said abuse of power by police to stifle the exercise of constitutional rights by peaceful Kenyans will not be tolerated.

Wandayi emphasised that Masai's death was unnecessary and could have been avoided if the police had adhered to the law.

"These young boys and girls were a threat to nobody, they were not a danger to peace. And this was evident from the start of demonstration to the end, they were unarmed and remained peaceful," he said.

While addressing the media in Kisumu, Wandayi sent condolences to the family of the deceased and friends saying they are treating him as a matyr, a hero who died in the course of fight for human dignity and freedom.

The MP added that the death Masai is comparable to that of civil rights activist Steve Biko who was killed in South Africa in 1977.

"What the Apatheid police did to Biko, is what has been done to this young man Rex Masai in 2024, under a new constitutional dispensation in the Republic of Kenya," he said.

The Ugunja MP condemned the abuse of power in general to stifle civil rights by those charged with exercising such powers.

"Let's also advice the police or those involved in policing generally as commanders and those who give directives that this thing will come back to haunt them, the law will catch up with them in the fullness of time."

He added: "They think they are operating under some kind of cover but when push comes to shove, when the time comes, when the hour of reckoning beckons, they will be left to defend themselves alone and it won't take time."


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