Kenyan Mother Finds Son's Body After Nanyuki Anti-Ebola Centre Protest Clashes
A Kenyan mother located the body of her missing 17-year-old son, Sylvester Muigai Ndung'u, in a Nanyuki mortuary, listed as an unidentified male. This discovery followed protests in the central Kenyan town where demonstrators clashed with police over a US proposal to construct an Ebola quarantine centre at a nearby military base.
Muigai was killed on Tuesday during these confrontations. His mother, Lucy Kagure, described finding him with “half of his head had been split open” and his clothes “soaked in blood.” While witnesses stated Muigai was shot in the head, local police commander Daniel Kitavi maintained that the cause of death would be determined by a post-mortem, though family members report police suggested a tear-gas canister might have been responsible.
Kagure stated her son was caught in the unrest while collecting his school uniform. She criticised the police, lamenting, “The police used too much force. Are they not parents too?” Muigai is the third person to die amidst the protests against the 50-bed isolation unit at Laikipia Air Base, intended for US citizens affected by the Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola outbreak.
Despite a High Court order last month to halt construction following public health concerns and a lack of governmental transparency, satellite imagery indicates work has continued. A US official indicated awareness of the court case, expressing optimism for a resolution. Kenyan President William Ruto defended the project as a US request, labelling refusal “inhuman” and urging against politicising the “serious” matter of Ebola.
Tuesday's planned peaceful march against the facility escalated into clashes when police blocked access, deploying tear gas and water cannon against protesters, who responded by erecting roadblocks and lighting bonfires. The Kenya Human Rights Commission has accused the police of excessive force, including live ammunition and arbitrary arrests, allegations to which the authorities have not responded. Kagure, now mourning, demands “justice for my boy.”
