Kin say student killed by police was innocent

Coast Regional Coordinator Nelson Marwa (right) addressing the press during a briefing ahead of the Teachers Conference, in Mombasa County on Saturday 2nd December 2017. [Photo/Kelvin Karani]

The family of a student shot dead by police officers at Sir Ramson Farm has denied claims he was among protesters.

The area remains tense following days of clashes between squatters and police in which several civilians have been shot and three officers injured.

The injured officers are receiving treatment in Moshi, Tanzania, because local hospitals do not have X-ray facilities.

Yesterday, the parents of the victim, identified as Mathendu Ndakuu, denied claims by Coast Regional Commissioner Nelson Marwa that their son was part of the hired goons deployed at the disputed 2,300-acre Sir Ramson farm in Taveta sub-county.

Marwa toured the farm on Monday for a meeting with local leaders to resolve the conflict.

After the meeting, he addressed the public at Njukini where he claimed the victim "was among those who were hired to attack police officers."

He said police fired back because their lives were in danger.

Independent sources say Ndakuu was shot once in the chest while harvesting maize on their family plot hundreds of metres away from the violence-hit area.

The deceased's mother Jastina Ndakuu said her first-born son had been engaging in farming since he sat his Standard Eight national exam at Chokaa Primary School in Taveta sub-county.