The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has approved murder charges against police officer Klinzy Barasa Masinde in connection with the death of hawker Boniface Kariuki. Kariuki was fatally shot during the June 17 Nairobi protests, which were originally organized to highlight concerns over extrajudicial killings.
Barasa and fellow constable Duncan Kiprono were interdicted after video footage emerged showing them manhandling the unarmed mask vendor before one of them shot him at close range along Moi Avenue, leaving him for dead.
On Wednesday, the DPP informed the court that Barasa will be formally charged on Friday before High Court Judge Justice Kimondo. Conversely, Kiprono has been released, as the DPP stated that no murder charges would be pursued against him.
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Following the incident, which ignited widespread public outcry and further protests against police brutality, Kariuki was admitted to the hospital with four bullet fragments lodged in his brain. Doctors had previously removed two other fragments while he was still alive. Pathologists have indicated that Kariuki’s brain may have ceased functioning before his death was officially announced over a week after the shooting.