Two years of anguish: Families still seeking justice over 2024 Gen Z deaths

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In Busilwa village, Ikolomani Sub- County, Kakamega County, life has settled into quietness that feels heavier than noise.

Outside a small mud-walled house, Alice Nekesa sits in near silence, her eyes follow her husband, Morris Shiramba, as he bends over a grave a few meters away, pulling out weeds that have begun to reclaim the earth.

The grave belongs to their daughter, Caroline Shiramba.

It has been two years since the 35-year-old died during the June 2024 Gen Z Anti-Finance Bill protests in Kakamega town, unrest that spread across the country and left at least 62 young people dead.

For her parents, time has not translated into healing. Instead, it has deepened the absence.

According to them, the events of June 25, 2024, will remain permanently etched in their memory; an unhealed wound that time has not softened.

Nekesa says the death of her only child shattered her emotionally and altered the course of her daily life.

“It still pains me that she was not among the demonstrators but was killed in Kakamega town while going about her daily business of selling fruits,” she recalls.

She explains that when news first reached them of a girl being shot during the protests, they dismissed it as rumours.

“A friend called us and said Carol had been shot and killed instantly. We did not believe it because I had spent the better part of the day with her.”

She adds that Caroline was their only source of hope, and life has never been the same since her death.

Morris recalls the painful moment they confirmed the news at Kakamega funeral parlour.

“When we visited the mortuary, her body was lying in a pool of blood with a gunshot wound on her chest. That broke our hearts.”

The couple says they have repeatedly sought justice, but no arrests have been made.

“We are still asking the government to arrest the police officer who shot Caroline,” Morris says.

With the anniversary celebrations being conducted today nationally, Caroline's family is among the 62 families still waiting for compensation as recommended and approved by President William Ruto.

According to a report by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), only 3 out of the 62 death cases from the Gen Z protests are in court, two years later.

The report shows that only three cases are currently ongoing in courts, with three more having been forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for review and direction.

It also shows one case as undergoing internal legal review, with four others having been closed after investigations and five others closed following directions from the ODPP.

The report also indicates remaining 46 cases are at various stages of investigation.

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