Piece by: GORDON OSEN

26 August 2021

• The people beat him to a pulp, leaving him for the dead, braving the cold Nairobi night.

John Kiiru's head was bludgeoned severally with blunt objects, causing internal bleeding into the brain, an autopsy has shown.

His skull was fractured and he suffered a concussion, causing him to die. Signs of struggle in self-defence and to free himself from his attackers were all evident, the report showed.

Kiiru, 38, was killed on the night of Wednesday last week in Kayole after allegedly being arrested by police officers for flouting curfew rules. He was said to be outside his house past 10 pm.

The people beat him to a pulp, leaving him for the dead, braving the cold Nairobi night. By morning, the members of the public discovered his lifeless body and then hell broke loose in the area.

He was a father of two children. The postmortem exercise on the body was conducted on Wednesday at Mama Lucy hospital.

Tales from residents who claimed to be witnesses indicated that Kiiru had been apprehended by police officers while heading home, blocking and beating him up at Tushauriane Stage. The rider of the motorbike he was aboard, however, escaped, residents said. Kiiru himself was also a rider.

Some protesters took advantage of the mayhem to loot property for several minutes as police withdrew in the confrontation. A number of pedestrians were also attacked and robbed. The cops called for reinforcements to address the situation.

Nairobi police commander Augustine Nthumbi said they will investigate and take necessary action.

“There is no need to cause more trouble. It will be addressed,” he said.