A postmortem on the body of Sheryl Adhiambo, the 21-year-old girl allegedly shot by police in Huruma estate in Nairobi showed she died as a result of a single bullet wound to the head.
She was shot and killed in the head on Saturday night, sparking a two-day protest that turned violent.
Adhiambo was a student at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC).
The exercise, conducted by two pathologists, found that the bullet entered through the left side of Adhiambo’s head and exited from the back, rupturing the cerebral cavity.
The pathologists, Grace Midigo and Simon Omuok, said the injuries were fatal and that she could not have survived the trauma.
A group of activists and political actors present at the City Mortuary called for justice for the death. They demanded accountability from the officer involved in the shooting.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) confirmed that it has deployed a Rapid Response Team to investigate the incident.
The team was present during the autopsy examination. Police too were present.
IPOA said the team is actively gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and analysing available exhibits to establish the circumstances surrounding Adhiambo’s death.
The student had finished her examination and was in the area to help her mother in fish business she runs there.
The National Police Service (NPS) explained events leading up to the shooting. A complainant reported at Huruma Police Station earlier that day that he had been attacked by five young men known to him, robbed of a silver chain and Sh1,800 in cash, and threatened with death.
Officers responding to the report arrested two suspects, with further investigations leading to the arrest of two additional suspects later in the evening.
Police said that during the second arrest, one of the suspects raised an alarm, prompting nearby youths to stone officers in an attempt to disrupt the operation.
The NPS stated that officers fired warning shots into the air to disperse the crowd, during which Adhiambo was fatally shot.
The service urged residents to allow due process to take its course and to refrain from further acts of lawlessness to help de-escalate tensions and restore calm as investigations continue.
The incident sparked protests in the area that left at least three vehicles torched. Several properties were destroyed in the Saturday night and Sunday protests.
Both the police and IPOA are investigating the shooting incident.
