Kenyan comedian turned activist Eric Omondi paid a visit to Victor Juma on July 21 after anti-riot police arrested him.
Juma is the man in the viral video who clashed with anti-riot law enforcement officers in Mathare Constituency after they threw tear gas into his house.
Mr Juma could be heard in the viral video asking the police officers why they threw tear gas into his house when no one from his family was out on the streets participating in the opposition-led protests that were taking place across the country.
“Why have you tear-gassed my child? Who are you pointing at? You want to shoot me? Just know you have also sired children. You want to kill my child? You’ve tear-gassed my child and she fainted in the house. Beat me. I haven’t carried any weapons. I have come from the house to tell you the truth. What are you telling me? You are hurting our children. Why did you tear gas my child?” Juma shouted at the gathered officers.
One officer, posing as a journalist, rushed up behind him and arrested him, leading him to his colleagues, who bundled him into a police lorry. They also mocked him for ‘behaving like a man’ while manhandling him.
According to Eric Omondi, in an exclusive interview with a local media outlet, Mr Juma is not doing well in police custody but expressed hope that he will soon be fine.
“He has just been taken to Milimani Law Courts and I am following him there. He was arrested for unlawful assembly. Right now, we want to look at paying his bail- to look into his legal rights to get a cash bail- and then look into getting him a job to take care of his family. We are yet to know what work he would go for because we are focused on securing his freedom,” began Eric Omondi.
He also revealed that Mr Juma told him that the police intentionally fired tear gas into his house while battling demonstrators, causing his toddler daughter to collapse.
Mr Omondi went on to say that Juma and his wife were at a loss as to what to do next: rush the child to the hospital or stay home and remain safe because demonstrators were clashing with police and they risked being beaten by police regardless of their urgency.
Then Mr Juma went outside and angrily confronted the gathered anti-riot police officers while his wife nursed their child back to health.
Eric Omondi also plans to pay a visit to the family once Juma is released and reunited with his family.
