- Brian is among the many victims of police violence during the demonstrations that happened between the months of March and July 2023 in Kisumu.
- The protests had been announced by Azimio la Umoja coalition over the high cost of living.
Image: FILE
John Akhala has been living in the shadow of unbearable grief.
Life changed after he lost his son in the hands of police.
His days are now filled with a crushing void and constant thoughts of how life could be if Brian Oniang'o was still alive.
"I had high hopes in Brian as he aspired to be a plant operator in future. His untimely and brutal death in the hands of police officers has left me and his siblings deeply traumatised," Akhala says.
It was on July 22 at around 8pm. Akhala received a call from his sister, Everylyne Achungo.
"She informed me that armed police officers had stormed into her compound and entered the small house adjacent to the gate, where Brian and William were,"Akhala says, adding that the officers proceeded to drag them out as they repeatedly beat them.
Brian and William pleaded for mercy but their cries fell on deaf ears.
What followed was the two being rushed to a nearby hospital for first aid and later transferred to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital for specialised treatment.
"Given lack of transport owing to protests, I travelled the following day to Kisumu and then to Jaramogi where my son and nephew were."
To his dismay, Akhala found the two lying on the hospital beds unconscious.
A quick observation led him to find out the injuries they had sustained on their arms, head and legs.
The situation got out of hand and the two were moved from the emergency section to the intensive care unit that morning.
Unfortunately, Brian succumbed to his injuries around 1am on July 26.
His father says that a postmortem was conducted and it revealed that Brian died as a result of severe head injury secondary to blunt force trauma following an assault.
At the time, Brian was employed as a supermarket attendant within Nyalenda B as he awaited to join college in September 2023.
"I am a single parent. I have suffered huge loss since I had high hopes in Brian," Akhala says.
He made attempts to report about the circumstances that led to his son's death to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, but later gave up.
He claims the agency kept sending him away, saying they were conducting an update on their system.
To date, no probe has ever been conducted.
Brian is among the many victims of unlawful and excessive use of force during the demonstrations that happened between the months of March and July 2023 in Kisumu.
The protests had been announced by Azimio la Umoja coalition over the high cost of living.
Kenyans came out in large numbers on various cities to demonstrate and later present their petitions to the government, but the police outlawed the protests and declared them illegal.
Brighton Ochieng was just an innocent bystander when the protests escalated.
He was supposed to be at school on that day but was unable to attend owing to the unrest and demonstrations.
It was on July 20. He recalls going to play football as everything seemed to be calm at the time only for chaos to erupt hour later.
"In the commotion, I was shot in the right forearm. I fell to the ground. The police approached me and hit me in the arm again,"
To demonstrate how brutal the police were, they shot him again on the back leaving him for dead.
Brighton was rushed to hospital by neighbours and good Samaritans.
"Despite treatment, I am yet to heal from the gunshot wounds. I have several bullet pellets lodged in my body which cannot be removed due to risk of fatality," he says.