A Kenyan police officer accused of fatally shooting a hawker during last month’s anti-brutality protests in Nairobi is set to face murder charges in court on Friday.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has confirmed that Constable Klinzy Barasa Masinde will be charged with the killing of Boniface Kariuki, an unarmed street vendor who was shot at close range on Moi Avenue during demonstrations on 17 June.
The incident, which was captured on video, showed Barasa and another officer, Duncan Kiprono, confronting Kariuki near Nairobi’s city centre. Footage later circulated widely online, sparking national outrage and renewed calls to hold police officers accountable for excessive force.
Barasa was seen in the footage aggressively handling Kariuki, who sold face masks for a living. Seconds later, one of the officers fired at him, leaving him lying in the street.
Kariuki, who was critically injured, was rushed to hospital. Doctors later confirmed that he had at least four bullet fragments lodged in his brain. Though surgeons successfully removed two, he remained in a coma and was declared dead more than a week later.
Pathologists later said Kariuki’s brain may have stopped functioning before his death was officially recorded.
The DPP has now formally filed murder charges against Barasa. His first appearance is scheduled for Friday before High Court Judge Justice Kimondo.
His colleague Kiprono, who was also under investigation, will not be charged. The DPP said there was insufficient evidence to support a murder charge in his case.
The shooting of Kariuki added to growing public anger over what many see as a pattern of police impunity. His death came during protests that were themselves sparked by allegations of police killings in Nairobi’s informal settlements.
Rights groups say the response to protests has too often turned violent, with police using live ammunition, tear gas, and excessive force to disperse demonstrators.
In the days following the shooting, protestors returned to the streets, demanding justice for Kariuki and a broader reckoning with state violence.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has been investigating the case, alongside the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
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