Jonah Kariuki, the father of Boniface Kariuki, a hawker who was brutally shot by a rogue police officer at close range during protests in Nairobi CBD, says he is in a stable condition.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, June 18, after visiting his son at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), Kariuki asked Kenyans to pray for his son, revealing that he was a hawker in Nairobi just like him.

“Boniface Mwangi Kariuki is alive but fighting for his life in the Intensive Care Unit at the KNH. I’ve struggled to raise my son, and I am sad, but his condition is stable and I pray he will get better,” said Kariuki.

A dejected Kariuki is still struggling to come to terms with the situation of his 22-year-old son who usually hawks ornaments in Nairobi streets, but had opted to sell facemasks owing to the demonstrations.

Accompanying Kariuki was Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah who blamed the police for highhandedness.

“I came to see the hawker, but I’ve been informed I cannot see him because he is in the Intensive Care Unit. Boniface Mwangi Kariuki is alive but fighting for his life in the ICU at KNH. We pray for a speedy recovery for Boniface and for all other Kenyans injured yesterday,” Omtatah said.

Following the incident that shocked Kenyans, the Inspector-General National Police Service Douglas Kanja ordered for the immediate arrest and arraignment in court of the involved officer, revealing that the said police officer had already been arrested.

“Furthermore, NPS has noted a group of goons armed with crude weapons, in today’s protests within the CBD. The Service takes great exception and does not condone such unlawful groupings,” the NPS said in a statement on Tuesday, June 17. “Such individuals will be handled firmly, according to the law.”