Student shot dead in mistaken identity case

• Twenty-year-old John Kioko Muthini was a candidate at St Michael’s Secondary School in Nairobi’s South B estate.
• The incident took place at the Mukuru-Kaiyaba slums in Industrial Area on Tuesday afternoon.
• His father Muthini Ndeto, jua kali artisan, said that he had had lunch with his son around 3pm before the son asked for permission to go and play a game of pool with his friends.

A Form Four student was shot dead in a city slum after he was mistaken for a most-wanted criminal.

Twenty-year-old John Kioko Muthini was a candidate at St Michael’s Secondary School in Nairobi’s South B estate.

The incident took place at the Mukuru-Kaiyaba slums in Industrial Area on Tuesday afternoon.

His father Muthini Ndeto, jua kali artisan, said that he had had lunch with his son around 3pm before the son asked for permission to go and play a game of pool with his friends.

“He wanted to relax as he waited to sit his next exam on Wednesday,” Mr Muthini said amid tears.

A witness, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the student had surrendered when he was shot by the police officer.

“We were playing a game of pool when we were ordered to lie down. The policeman then told him to stand up.

"He knelt down and raised his hands, saying ‘sio mimi’ (It’s not me), but his pleas fell on deaf ears,” he said.

He was shot three times, his friend added. The principal of the school, Sr Angela Hartigan, said that Muthini seemed excited that day.

Revising for exam

“He was in school revising with other students in preparation for the Wednesday exam before I dismissed them during lunch hour,” Sr Hartigan said.

Following the incident, angry residents took to the streetsi in protest. Enterprise, Busia A and Busia B roads were no-go zones as they engaged police in running battles.

Police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowds. Makadara police boss Thomas Atuti Moturi said investigations have been launched into the incident.