The Dandora dumpsite in Nairobi [PHOTO/ejatlas.com]
Residents of Dandora estate held protests over the weekend after a deaf boy was shot dead in an incident of robbery.
According to residents, the slain boy was 16 years old.
Demonstrators blocked roads and pelted stones as police officers tried to pick the body.
Witnesses say that the teenager was shot by police who were pursuing the robbery thugs.
It is said that the officers were shouting at a group of boys to get out of their way and the boy did bot hear this.
“He did not hear the shouts because he was deaf. Police shot him twice, killing him,” said a witness.
However, Nairobi police boss Japheth Koome said that the boy was part of a gang which had attacked and robbed a woman of her cash and mobile phone.
“She raised the alarm, alerting police who chased the boys into the dump site area where one of them, who was armed with a pistol, was killed,” Koome said, adding that they were following up on medical tests to find out if he was deaf.
Koome further said that a gang operating at the dumpsite area took the body and refused to hand it over to police as both sides engaged in running battles.
In their part, the protesters insisted that the slain boy was innocent and demanded immediate investigations to unearth the truth.