12-year-old among victims of police shooting during Eid meat donation chaos

A section view of IFO 2 refugee camp in Dadaab. [File, Standard]

Four people, including a 12-year-old boy, are nursing gunshot wounds at Garissa Referral Hospital after allegedly being shot by police officers during a meat donation scuffle at the Ifo refugee camp.

The victims—three refugees and a Kenyan working at the Kenya Red Cross Hospital—claim that police opened fire indiscriminately on crowds waiting to receive meat distributed following Eid al-Adha celebrations on Sunday.

“My son was playing with other children near the police station when he was shot. Boda boda operators brought him home while he was bleeding profusely,” Zeinab Ali, mother of the 12-year-old, told The Standard yesterday.

She said the boy, Mohamed Ibrahim Dagane, was shot in the hands and was initially rushed to a nearby hospital within the refugee camp. They were, however, referred to Garissa for specialised treatment.

During the interview, the boy cried in pain as his mother and sister accused Garissa Referral Hospital of negligence, saying only nurses had attended to his wounds.

“I am a refugee who has never left the camp. I can’t even step outside the hospital. I would prefer my boy to be taken to a private facility, but I don’t know how,” the distraught mother added.

Mohamed Moulid Site, 36, said he had a bullet lodged in his thigh after it tore through his lower back.

At the time of the incident, he said he was driving to his workplace—the Kenya Red Cross Hospital—when an elderly woman flagged him down to help carry some luggage.

“The moment I alighted and was about to place her belongings in the car boot, I felt a sharp pain in my back and collapsed. When I touched the area, I realised I was bleeding,” he recounted from his hospital bed.

He was rushed to the hospital where he works but was later referred to Garissa for further treatment.
The father of seven said he had undergone an operation to remove the bullet, but it was unsuccessful. He is now awaiting a second procedure.

Hassan Issack Ali and Ibrahim Mohamed, both refugees, are also among the victims. Ali lost three fingers on his left hand, while Ibrahim sustained a gunshot wound that entered through his back and exited through his ribs.

All the victims are calling for swift investigations and the prosecution of the officers involved. Notably, none of the refugee victims has recorded a statement with the police; only Mohamed Moulid has obtained an Occurrence Book (OB) number at Garissa Police Station.

Efforts to reach the Garissa Police Commander for comment were unsuccessful, as he did not answer calls or respond to text messages. However, the victims claimed that police had informed them that two officers from Ifo Police Station had been disarmed and placed in custody.