ODPP: Killer Cop Charged With Boniface Kariuki Murder
Renson Igonga, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has filed murder charges against Police Constable Klinzy Masinde Baraza.
Baraza has been accused with the killing of Boniface Mwangi Kariuki on June 17, 2025, amid protests in Nairobi’s Central Business District.
The DPP confirmed that, following the conclusion of investigations and the gathering of evidence, Baraza will be charged with the murder of the mask salesman, who is scheduled to be laid to rest this week.
However, his co-accused, Duncan Kiprono, with whom he was photographed during the horrible occurrence, has been released.
Videos of the shooting showed a police officer, believed to be Baraza, racing into a group of demonstrators on Mondlane Street near Imenti House before firing the first shot.
Kariuki collapsed to the ground before a second cop smacked him with the buttstock of his pistol. Moments later, the first cop pointed his revolver at the seller and shot him in the head at close range.
Kariuki was shown lying on the ground, bleeding, while frantic demonstrators rushed to his aid.
Officer Klinzy Masinde Baraza, who fatally shot mask vendor Boniface Kariuki Mwangi in Nairobi on June 17, appeared in court visibly shaken, crying, flanked only by his family.
— Cyprian, Is Nyakundi Kibiru (@C_NyaKundiH) July 10, 2025
Not a single official from the National Police Service showed up to support him.
Let this be a… pic.twitter.com/fsfAa4Apg6
He was transferred to Bliss Medical Center, where he received emergency first aid while they waited for an ambulance.
He was eventually moved to Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, where attempts to save his life were unsuccessful.
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Kariuki, who had been in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at KNH, died at 3:15pm on Monday, June 30, about two weeks after being shot.
His shooting sparked outrage among human rights activists and the wider public, not only because he was unarmed, but also because the protest was meant to highlight the same police violence that claimed his life.
Baraza and his now-freed co-accused were detained shortly after the shooting and arraigned on June 19 at the Milimani Law Courts.
The judge granted the prosecution’s and defence’s request to detain them for 15 days to allow for more investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
ODPP: Killer Cop Charged With Boniface Kariuki Murder
