The National Police Service has clarified that a hawker shot in the head during running battles at the city centre is alive.
Boniface Mwangi Kariuki is in critical condition at the Kenyatta National Hospital with doctors saying he has pulled out of the worst phase and may just make it.
The media extensively live streamed the shooting of the mask vendor. The close range shooting immobilized the hawker, who collapsed to the ground.
Last night friends who visited Boniface at the hospital found him in the ICU and he had his nape injuries stitched but was out in a coma.
The update by police can only mean two things: The police were using rubber bullets. And he collapsed in shock, fearing he had been shot fatally.
The delay in issuing the update was a strategic security move.
Or so it would appear. Given that the authorities were fully aware of what was the status of the shooting.
The update has given the embattled, under pressure police bosses some reprieve.
With the confirmation that the hawker is alive and that the officer who pulled the trigger has been arrested, the police are slightly off the hook.
Leave a Reply