Chilling Testimony: Witness Recounts Police Officer’s Heartless Words After Rex Masai Shooting
A poultry farmer who participated in the protests against the 2024 Finance Bill last June gave a horrifying account of how activist Rex Masai was fatally injured and left without assistance.
Mekatilili Mweru, testifying at the resumed investigation into Rex Masai’s death, remembered an unknown police officer yelling, “Let him die.” She stated that she witnessed Rex bleeding heavily and lying in a puddle of blood while police violently attacked unarmed young protesters.
She explained that officers fired live ammunition and tear gas at the demonstrators, filling the area with smoke.
Mweru, accompanied by her friend Laban Njoroge, described the distressing experience to Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo.
The protester recounted the terrifying moments when the young demonstrators chanted “Ruto must go” and protested against the Finance Bill.
Mweru told the investigation that on June 24, 2024, police officers forcefully suppressed the protesters in Nairobi’s city center.
She said Njoroge pointed out a young man lying in a pool of blood.
“At that moment, I heard one of the officers shout, ‘Let him die there,'” she testified.
Led in her testimony by a prosecutor, Mweru stated, “I did not see the specific officer who spoke those words.”
She described the scene as chaotic and said police used excessive force to disperse the protesters.
“They were hitting us constantly… I was injured on my right hand. Besides my head, they were hitting us everywhere,” she said. Mweru added that the protests had been peaceful until around 5 p.m., when the police aggressively moved in and attacked everyone.
As the protesters scattered, she and Laban found themselves on Moi Avenue, surrounded by officers carrying long guns and batons.
“There was tear gas all day, and sometimes the explosions made us wonder if it was just tear gas or something more,” she said.
During their escape, Laban tripped and fell.
She stopped to help him, but they were quickly overpowered.
“We were afraid to run because we thought they would shoot us from behind. We decided to stay and protect ourselves,” the witness recalled.
It was during this desperate moment that Laban saw the bleeding young man and heard the officer’s shocking statement.
The witness told the magistrate that the protesters had no leaders, only signs and a shared goal.
The investigation into the tragic death of Rex Masai will continue on March 14, 2025.
The prosecution will present further evidence about the events that brought Nairobi to a standstill.
The hearing continues.
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Chilling Testimony: Witness Recounts Police Officer’s Heartless Words After Rex Masai Shooting
