Grief and outrage swept through Likii village in Nanyuki town on Monday July 14, 2025 following the death of Julia Wangui, who was allegedly tortured while in police custody after the July 7 Saba Saba protests.

Her death sparked renewed demonstrations, with hundreds of residents pouring into the streets to express their anger over reported police brutality.

Protesters lit bonfires and blocked all major roads leading to Nanyuki town which had become highly volatile by mid-afternoon on Monday.

While no major incidents of vandalism were reported, there was heavy police deployment to control the crowds and secure key entry points into the town.

Major showdown was experienced between the police and the Gen-z as they engaged in running battles trying to access Nanyuki town while police used teargas canisters to keep off the crowd after an earlier tipoff that the demonstrators had planned to burn down Nanyuki GK Prison. 

Wangui’s grandmother Susan Rienye who joined the demonstration said that the family has been receiving calls of persuasion from the government to go low on the matter since the father is the area chief, adding that they will not relent until justice is served. 

According to the family, Wangui was heading home on the fateful evening of the protests when she was rounded up with other protestors and taken to Nanyuki police station where she spent the night. 

She was arraigned in Nanyuki Law Court the following day and released on a Ksh50,000 bond which they were unable to raise at the moment and it resulted in her being held at Nanyuki GK prison remand.

It was during this time, that her grandmother Susan Rienye alleges, that she was brutally assaulted by officers. 

She was taken to Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital on Wednesday after developing complications but later succumbed while receiving treatment.

A preliminary medical report obtained by the family indicates that Njoki suffered blunt force trauma to the head, consistent with a severe beating. 

A postmortem  examination that was expected to be conducted on Monday was postponed after IPOA requested to be enjoined in the matter. 

However the post mortem will be conducted on Tuesday July 15,  to ascertain the cause of her death.

This comes as the family of Thomas Gachara, a form three student at Bingwa Secondary School in Nanyuki who also lost his life during the protests is demanding the government to waive the hospital bills to enable them lay their son to rest amid calls for justice. 

The residents lashed out at the police for killing their own as Gachara is the son to a DCI officer based in Meru while Wangui is the daughter of Likii Chief.

The protesters have vowed to continue with the demonstrations until justice is served and those involved are brought to book.