Police are investigating the fatal shooting of youth mobiliser Cecil Ouma, with seven people—including two bodyguards attached to Youth Affairs Principal Secretary Fikirini Jacobs—recording statements to help detectives establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Ouma, 28, a Civil Engineering student at the Technical University of Kenya and a youth mobiliser, was shot on Tuesday along Park Road in Nairobi shortly after a government youth empowerment forum held under the State Department for Youth Affairs' KIKAO programme in Kariokor.
Police said detectives have recorded statements from the two security officers, a director in the State Department for Youth Affairs who was reportedly inside the Principal Secretary's vehicle at the time of the incident, and several witnesses. Investigators are also relying on witness accounts and forensic evidence to reconstruct the events leading to the shooting.
According to Ouma's family, he had mobilised about 60 youths to attend the government event. After the forum, he reportedly approached the Principal Secretary's vehicle following complaints from participants that the Sh10,000 allegedly provided for transport was insufficient.
"He was given Sh10,000 by the PS. He told the youths waiting for the money, 'I only have Sh10,000. I don't know how we will share it.' They told him the amount was too little and advised him to return the money to the PS instead of fighting over it," said Ouma's brother, Jeff Otieno.
Otieno said Ouma returned to the Principal Secretary's vehicle to seek clarification, but a confrontation allegedly followed, ending in the fatal shooting.
Youth leader Willie Maina said they rushed to the scene after hearing gunshots.
"Jam ilikuwa, tukaskia risasi zimelia, so we rushed to that event. Tukapata ilikuwa Park Road Primary. On the perimeter wall, the comrade was lying down," Maina said.
Ouma was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police have not disclosed what happened immediately before the shooting or identified the person who fired the fatal shot. No arrests have been made, and authorities have not indicated whether any of the people who recorded statements will face charges as investigations continue.
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