KIAMBU, Kenya – A 10-year-old girl identified as Bridget Njoki has been confirmed among those killed during Monday’s Saba Saba Day protests, after she was fatally struck by a bullet while inside her home in Kiriguini, Ndumberi, Kiambu County.
The incident, which has sparked outrage and grief, was revealed by Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, who took to social media to mourn the child’s death and condemn what she described as reckless and deadly use of force by security agencies.
“The girl didn’t go to school to stay safe, but the bullet got her from her home and laid her dead,” Wamuchomba wrote on X.
“I’m in pain and defeated to see many young people die by the bullets out of demonstrations.”
The death of an innocent 10 yr old girl from a bullet that got her in her home in kiriguini,Ndumberi Kiambu county is very painful. The girl didn’t go to school to be safe but the bullet got her from her home and laid dead. I’m in pain and defeated to see many young people die
While full details of the shooting remain unclear, the girl’s killing has added to the growing list of civilian casualties from the nationwide protests, which were marked by clashes between demonstrators and security forces across several counties.
Wamuchomba directly linked the child’s death to a controversial order allegedly issued by the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, Kipchumba Murkomen, suggesting that a “shoot-to-kill” directive may have been operationalized.
“We can confirm that the recent order to shoot to kill by the Security Minister was taken seriously,” she said. “But why shoot to kill an innocent girl?”
The death has intensified calls for an independent investigation into how security forces handled the protests.
Human rights groups and opposition leaders have accused the government of authorizing disproportionate force against largely unarmed protesters, many of them young people demanding economic justice and political accountability.
So far, the National Police Service has acknowledged at least 11 deaths across the country, while the UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday said it was “deeply troubled” by the killings and destruction witnessed during the demonstrations. The UN has urged “prompt, thorough, independent and transparent investigations.”
#Kenya: We are deeply troubled by the killings yesterday of at least 10 people in protests amid looting and destruction of property.@volker_turk urges prompt, thorough, independent & transparent investigations. Those responsible must be held to account.
For many in Ndumberi, the tragedy is a painful reminder of how volatile the situation has become.
What was supposed to be a day of peaceful civic action has turned into a national reckoning over police conduct, public safety, and the cost of silence.
