Constable Klinzy Masinde Barasa, a police officer seen on camera during the fatal shooting of 22-year-old mask vendor Boniface Kariuki, will face murder charges. The Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has approved the case, which follows the tragic events that occurred on June 17 during protests in Nairobi.

 

Kariuki was shot at close range, an incident captured on camera. He suffered severe brain damage and spent two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit at Kenyatta National Hospital before being pronounced dead.

Barasa’s co-suspect, Constable Duncan Kiprono, was released after the court found insufficient evidence to continue holding him in connection with Kariuki’s death. The court has now granted Barasa the opportunity to take a plea for murder.

A requiem mass for Kariuki was held on July 9 at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi, where family, friends, and loved ones gathered to pay their respects. Later that evening, a candlelight vigil took place at the site of the shooting, a symbolic act of remembrance for Kariuki.

Kariuki’s burial is set for Friday, July 11, at his family’s home in Kangema, Murang’a County.