Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga has directed the county health department to waive medical bills for five protestors who were shot in Karatina town during anti-government protests.
Speaking at the Karatina sub-county hospital when he visited the victims, Kahiga also directed the health officials to ensure the five receive proper treatment.
“I have observed that we had seven patients, two have been discharged and five are still receiving treatment," he said.
"We had two cases of two young men who are students and were shot in the melee. I want to direct that the five should be treated and released and as a hospital we shall foot their bills.”
The facility received the patients with gunshot wounds on Tuesday last week, following daylong running battles between police and demonstrators.
While expressing his displeasure at the excessive force used by police to quell peaceful demonstrators, he also urged the service men to exercise restraint when dealing with protestors.
“When you come to this hospital and find students who were coming from school and are now here after getting shot, it doesn’t auger very well. We may understand the pressure the police may have because of the demonstrations, but we call for restraint,” Kahiga said.
He also appealed Gen Zs to shelve further demonstrations, to give room for the administration to address their grievances.
What started as a good gesture of holding the government accountable was now being infiltrated by criminals and if left unchecked would erode the gains realised from the protests.
“Our message to the Gen Zs is we have heard you and we continue to listen to what you are saying. We know of your 50 demands, we may not be able to meet all of them, but we now call for restraint,” he said.