Suffering of victims maimed by police in poll protests

David Oteno is assisted by his wife Carolyn Moraa at their Nyalenda home in Kisumu County on January 19 2018. He was shot on his right thigh during the post-election protests in Kisumu last year. [Photo by Collins Oduor/Standard]

Tales of once-productive men with big dreams, now having to live with police bullets lodged in their bodies, paint a grim picture of the unhealed wounds of protracted and divisive polls.

David Otieno lies in his bed, frail and reeling in pain. He paints the picture of the agony of victims of police brutality following the 2017 political violence in the country.

Mr Otieno, 36, is one of those yet to heal from the impact of police bullets in Kisumu. After more than two months in hospital, he has been taken home to heal.

A spot check by The Standard revealed that, like Otieno, several other victims continue to live in agony months after the presidential election debate was closed by the Supreme Court judges on November 20.

Otieno, a boda boda rider, Chrispine Ochieng, a Form Four student, and Issa Saidi, a college student, are reminders that there are still unhealed wounds from last year's elections.

When we visited his home in Nyalenda-Kachok yesterday, Otieno was lying dejected, with his right leg raised.

His bicycle, which was his only source of income, stood in one corner of the one-room mud-walled rental house, as his wife Carolyn Moraa did domestic chores.

Otieno was shot on October 26, about 20 metres from his house, as he went to buy mandazi.

Cooks mandazi

“There is this woman who cooks mandazi next to the road. She was not there when I went but there was tension following protests against the repeat presidential poll. Suddenly, there were running battles and the sound of gun shots,” said Otieno.

He was shot in the right leg and rushed to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, where he spent more than two months and had two operations.

“I was discharged but was told to return for check-up. Getting food has become a problem. We depend on friends and church members who visit often,” he said, adding that his wife has been mostly engaged in nursing him.

Less than 500 metres from the Otienos, in Nyalenda-Kilo, sits Ochieng, a Form Four student at Nanga Secondary School. He was also allegedly shot by police on October 26 during clashes between police and demonstrators.

Ochieng, 19, still has a bullet lodged in his pelvis and risks becoming paralysed.

His father Marcus Onyango says he was in his house with Ochieng and his sister, following events on television. Violence had broken out the previous night.

“On October 25, there was a lot of tension as people were against the repeat poll. The tension spilled over to the following day, which was voting day. There was nothing going on around here so we decided to stay indoors,” said Mr Onyango.

The father of five said as the battle between police and demonstrators intensified, police pushed the demonstrators back into the residential estates.

“It was at this point that the officers started flushing people out of the houses and beating them. We are next to the road so our houses were the first targets," said Onyango.

"They ordered people to open the doors and threatened to break in if defied. Before they could get to my house, I hid under the bed, leaving my two children in the sitting room.”

He said the police broke into his house and attacked Ochieng and his sister, kicking them and beating them with batons.

“There were about six officers hitting me all over,” said Ochieng, adding that he managed to run out of the house.

However, he said, another contingent of officers in the neighbouring plot spotted him and shot him in the thigh.

“I felt a sharp pain in my thigh and fell down. I was picked by Kenya Red Cross personnel and taken to a nearby hospital before being transferred to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital,” he added.

A medical examination revealed that the bullet was lodged in a critical area and required specialised treatment, which was not offered at the hospital.

Onyango said the doctors advised that his son should stay with the bullet in his body as further tests were done.

Medical reports seen by The Standard indicate that the bullet went deep into Ochieng’s left lower limb, and the bullet entry point covered with flesh.

He was put on a regimen of antibiotics and wound management because he was stable, and discharged.

Ochieng's condition has, however, deteriorated, and he now lives on painkillers while hoping to get specialised surgery.

“I was told to try Tenwek or Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, but I had no money. Friends told me it would cost no less than Sh450, 000. I fear that as long as the bullet remains in his body, it could end up messing his life,” said Onyango, who works as a shop assistant in town.

Facing challenges

Nanga School principal Ann Nyamamba confirmed that the boy was facing challenges owing to his condition.

“He comes to school late most of the time, or has to leave early because of the pain. Sometimes his concentration in class is affected and this could affect his final exams,” said Ms Nyamamba.

She said the student had since been exempted from manual work and co-curricular activities in school.

“We have been advising his parents to seek further medical attention before his condition gets out of hand,” she added.

College student Saidi is also living in pain at his Manyata Mzalendo estate home.

The second-year Kisumu Polytechnic student was shot in the right side of his chest on the evening of October 26 as returned home from school, and is yet to heal fully.

The 27-year-old electrical engineering student, who was funding his own education, said he had seen his life changed for the worse.

When The Standard caught up with him yesterday, he was still in possession of the medical documents following his admission at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga hospital between October 25 and 30.

“I have been doing all manner of jobs to fund my education but after the incident, my right side has been weakened and I cannot do much. I can’t even sleep on my right side as it is painful and gives me no peace. I have been living on painkillers,” said Saidi.

Even though the county government paid the initial medical bills for all the victims of the political violence, most of them seem to be in dire need of specialised care.

“As you may be aware, we bailed out all the victims, but that was not all. Any other case out there can still be brought to the attention of the county government,” said Mathews Owili, the deputy governor.

County Police Commander John Kamau assured that all the victims of violence would get justice.