IG Koome Denies Police Involved In Withholding 12-Year-Old’s Burial
The National Police Service (NPS) has denied claims that it refused to release the body of 12-year-old Kennedy Onyango.
Kennedy, who was killed during anti-government protests in Ongata Rongai, will be buried in Mbita this Saturday.
Japhet Koome, Inspector General of Police, confirmed on Thursday that the minor’s body was released to the deceased’s mother for burial.
Koome went on to say that the burial could not go ahead as planned due to a family feud after the boy’s alleged biological father went to court.
FOLLOW-UP BRIEF ON FATAL SHOOTING OF THE LATE KENNEDY ONYANGO DURING PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS IN ONGATA RONGAI pic.twitter.com/NtoNLMrzKK
— National Police Service-Kenya (@NPSOfficial_KE) July 6, 2024
“Contrary to the misleading reports circulating on social media that the National Police Service has stopped the burial of the late Kennedy Onyango in Mbita Constituency, we wish to clarify to the public that the body was released to the mother, Josinter Anyango Ochieng for burial on July 4, 2024,” Koome stated.
“The body was moved to Mbita for burial but upon arrival on July 5, 2024, one Denish Okinyi Abaga claiming to be the biological father of the boy appeared with a court order stopping the burial after he demanded to bury the boy.”
The IG explained that the alleged father obtained a court order directing police to transport the body to the Suba mortuary while awaiting further court instructions.
“Apparently, the Civil Suit No. 0028 of 2024 filed at Mbita Law Courts ordered the police to move the body to Suba Sub-County Hospital Funeral Home for preservation, and the OCS Mbita Police Station complied with the order,” he noted.
IG Koome also revealed that, despite reports that the boy was shot eight times, a postmortem examination report indicates that he died from a single gunshot wound.
“…This was after carrying out of the post-mortem by pathologist Dr. Ndegwa P.M. with the outcome indicating that the boy died due to a single gunshot wound at a long range,” stated Koome.
As a result, the police chief has urged the public to remain calm while the court resolves the burial feud.
Dr. Peter Ndegwa, a government pathologist who conducted the postmortem at the Ongata Rongai Sub-County Hospital Funeral Home, confirmed that the bullet shattered his arteries and punctured his lungs.
According to his family, Kennedy left the house that fateful day to retrieve a book he was sharing with a nearby classmate.
He was then allegedly shot eight times as the protests escalated into a night of violence, gunfire, and looting.
During an interview on Sunday, President William Ruto claimed that goons infiltrated the Rongai protests, taking a gun from a police officer and shooting into the crowds.
He stated that investigations into the incident will determine whether the boy was shot by police or the goons.
IG Koome Denies Police Involved In Withholding 12-Year-Old’s Burial
