The scenes, too, were diverse – tear gas smoke billowed from the fourth-floor balcony, more tear gas engulfed the entire floor of a low-budget rental and police was seen dousing the pink-dyed water from their water cannons towards residents and a vehicle which was presumed to be earlier torched by the protesters in the middle of the road.
Another clip shared by CNN journalist Larry Madowo showed police surrounding a car wash at Githurai 44 and assaulting its owner and the staffers who took off, leaving the owner at the mercy of the officers. “They were not protesting, had no stones and had not looted anything. They were just sitting, waiting for customers,” Madowo quoted a source aware of the incident.
The owner of this car wash on Kamiti Road, Githurai 44 in Nairobi says police came in and beat up her staff last night.
“They were not protesting, had no stones and had not looted anything. They were just sitting, waiting for customers” pic.twitter.com/tAPmXvTzZF
— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) July 24, 2024
Fact-Check
The woman resident then pointed us to an Instagram post claiming that police were also robbing people of their phones for fear of being recorded, clarifying that those were goons. “Protestors almost threw stones at me and cousins for standing with phones at the balcony…but media says police are the ones stealing…wrong info going around,” she adds.
“If they were peaceful protestors they would have no issue if we create awareness, so those were goons.”
She adds that the protests along Kamiti Road or even occupying the road were unplanned and that the officers were merely shooting upward to scare residents while clearing the road for resumption of traffic.
Additionally, posters reading “Our hearts bleed with you Zimmerman” started flooding Instagram timelines, shared by a section of prominent social media personalities. However, they were quickly fact-checked by residents of the area in the comment section denying any alleged massacre and affirming the woman’s account of goons breaking into shops.
Police Stance
Much later, the lady’s sentiments would be vindicated as Acting Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja revealed on Wednesday that goons were hired to cause chaos during protests in various parts of Nairobi on July 23, 2024. Kanja indicated that they were hired from other parts of the country to cause chaos in the affected areas.
“However, a few skirmishes were witnessed in Nairobi CBD around Kimathi Street, Archives, North Airport Road, Pipeline area, Roysambu, and Kakamega Town. Our preliminary investigations indicate that some goons disguising as protestors were hired from elsewhere to cause chaos in some of the affected areas where looting and destruction of property were witnessed,” read a statement in part.
The acting IG assured the public that the investigations on the goons would be speedy and the perpetrators would be brought to book. However, the police boss has yet to comment exactly on the events that transpired in Zimmerman and Githurai 44.
Githurai 45, as you would recall, was also in the headlines on June 25, with reports of residents enduring terror as police descended on the residential area and discharged gunshots for hours on end.
Screengrab of police officers in Githurai on June 25, 2024. /BBC
A police report seen by Viral Tea from the Githurai-Mwiki Police Station had however indicated that a protest that began peacefully turned riotous when an alleged group of about 6,000 became violent and lit a bonfire on a road in the area.
“Police officers led by the sub-county commander tried to negotiate with them to peaceably disperse but they refused and started pelting the officers with stones. A proclamation was read by the sub-county commander but they did not disperse instead turned very violent,” stated the report filed under OB Number 46/25/06/2024 at 9.15 pm.
The police added that teargas was fired at the protesters but they overpowered the officers forcing them to withdraw. What followed, according to the police, was more violence that saw their Land Cruiser vandalised and torched, as the protesters followed them to the police station and surrounded two other stations.
In the process, 20 officers suffered injuries to their limbs, were rushed to various hospitals, and released in fair condition. “During the demonstration, 740 blanks and rounds of spent cartridges and more than 700 pieces of teargas canisters were used to disperse the violent rioters,” the statement added.
Further, an independent investigation done by BBC found no evidence of mass killings in Githurai, raising questions about how readily misinformation can spread amid a crisis. A human rights advocate who lives and works in Githurai told investigations platform Africa Uncensored that the reports of a massacre were untrue.
Even though BBC‘s fact-finding mission was referenced by President William Ruto during a televised interview at State House on June 30, the government has never publicly commented on the Githurai horrors and it has never been made quite clear what actually transpired that night – and who was responsible.