A Malindi family is crying for justice following the fatal shooting of a Grade 6 pupil by an Administration Police officer last Saturday night.
While the police claim James Ngala, 17, was shot dead after threatening to attack officers on patrol, the boy’s parents claim their son was innocent and the act by the cop was a case of extrajudicial execution.
The boy’s mother, Grace Mulewa said her son had no history of criminal involvement. “My son never used to take people’s things, nor was he a criminal. He was very respectful and hardworking and would flee whenever there was a confrontation,” the distraught mother said.
She spoke to journalists at Malindi Community Human Rights Centre on Monday. Mulewa said her son left home with some friends and cousins to attend a wedding on the fateful night.
Later that night, she was informed he had been shot dead by police. She appealed to the government, especially the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), to thoroughly investigate the case and bring the killer to book.
Masmo Thuva said his son had accompanied his cousins to attend a wedding in Santafee, Malindi town, when the incident took place.
He urged the government to take action against the officer who shot his son. He said Ngala was due to sit the ongoing Kenya Primary School Education Assessment exam at Pamoja Academy in Malindi town.
James Ziro called for an end to extrajudicial killings, which he said had brought fear among residents. Victor Kaudo, a human rights activist from the Malindi Community Human Rights Centre, said he was perturbed by the incident and urged the police to stop being trigger-happy and instead arrest and charge suspected wrongdoers.
“What happened to the right to life? Even if the young man was a criminal, there is no law that allows anybody to shoot and kill anybody,” he said.
Kaudo urged Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to ensure the matter is dealt with speedily and take action against the officer who pulled the trigger.
He also asked IPOA and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights to take up the matter and ensure justice is served to Ngala’s family.
Contacted for comment, Malindi subcounty police commander Jos Mudavadi defended his officers, saying the boy was trying to attack an AP driver with a panga when one of the officers opened fire, killing the teenager on the spot.
Mudavadi, who declined to be recorded, said the AP officers were on patrol in the area following incidents of attacks on innocent wananchi by gangs of juvenile criminals.
He said an inquest file had been opened and the matter
was being investigated by IPOA.
