Girl 'hit' by officer dies after two months in coma

Relatives of Margaret Njeri outside Pandya Memorial Hospital mortuary Sunday. Margaret, who had been admitted at the facility, died on Saturday. [Photo: Omondi Onyango/Standard]

Tears flowed freely at a Mombasa hospital Sunday as relatives of a girl injured during the Mpeketoni dawn-to-dusk curfew lost the fight for her life after a month and half in a coma.

Emotions ran high at the Pandya Memorial Hospital when Margaret Njuguna succumbed to head injuries suffered after a policeman allegedly hit her with a gun butt.

Margaret was reportedly riding home on a motorbike when a police officer enforcing the curfew reportedly threw a gun at the rider, which hit her on the head.

Three surgeries

Speaking at the hospital, her mother, Miriam Njeri, said Margaret was first admitted to the intensive care unit and underwent three operations.

Njeri, 51, a widow, said the family was yet to clear the hospital bill which had accumulated to more than Sh1.7 million.

“I want justice to be done. I also want to see the police officer who killed my daughter,” she said, and called for the immediate arrest of the suspect.

The incident is said to have taken place near Sikomani village on January 17. “I learnt about the incident from the police in Mpeketoni. At first I thought she had been shot dead by the police,” Njeri explained amid tears.

She said Margaret was first rushed to Mpeketoni Hospital, before being referred to the Coast General Hospital in Mombasa after her condition worsened.

Margaret’s employer, George Wakahiu, an advocate, said the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Lamu County had informed him that the suspect could not be charged as they were awaiting a medical report.

“We demand that the DPP arraign the suspect and charge him because the action was reckless and senseless,” Wakahiu said. He also wants the Government to be held liable for the death.

“When the incident happened, the police officers enforcing the curfew, even before darkness fell, were holding a group of youth instead of escorting people home,” he said.

National Police Service Commission Chairman Johnstone Kavuludi said he was aware about the incident and action would soon be taken against the suspect.

Kavuludi said in Mombasa recently that the officer involved in the incident had been transferred to ensure there was no interference in the investigations. “The transfer of the officer is not in any way meant to hide the truth,” he said.