Stephen Mwangi a form 3 student who had been admitted at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, ICU unit succumbed to his injuries on Monday May 13, 2024.
The 16-year-old boy had sustained serious injuries to the head and ribs.
Mwangi was assaulted by rogue Kenya Forest Service(KFS) officials after he tried to defend his mother from allegedly being sexually harassed by the officers.
The officers in-charge of Koibatek forest had picked her up for illegally collecting firewood at the guarded forest.
The victim’s mother identified as Mary Wambui, told The Nation she was in the company of her 11-year-old son when the arrest occurred.
She was forced to make a call to her son Mwangi, who was at home and instructed him collect some money from their neighbors as the officers were allegedly demanding a Ksh20000 bribe.
When Mwangi arrived, he found the officers harassing the mother and when he tried to intervene they descended on him mercilessly, as described by the mother.
“They said that he was rude and began raining blows and kicks on him. I tried to beg them not to harm my son but my pleas fell on deaf ears,” she said.
The form 3 student was first admitted at Eldama Revine Hospital before being transferred to MTRH for specialized treatment.
According to the boy’s mother he died on Monday at 11.00pm while at the ICU, where he had been admitted for two days.
“Since Wednesday my son has not spoken anything. We lost him at night in ICU , he had been there since Saturday 2pm. We are still in shock,” she added.
