The Directorate Of Public Prosecutions [DPP] has officially approved murder charges against Klinzy Barasa Masinde – the officer who fatally shot Boniface Kariuki in the head during demonstrations. His colleague Duncan Kiprono has been let go.
22-year-old Boniface Kariuki murder has placed Kenya’s policing system under a harsh national and global spotlight. What began as a day of peaceful protest in Nairobi turned into a harrowing episode of state violence, leaving Boniface Kariuki with a fatal shot to the head and a country asking tough questions about the role of law enforcement in a constitutional democracy.
What Happened To Boniface Kariuki
On June 17, 2025, demonstrations had broken out along Nairobi’s Moi Avenue as citizens, many of them young, took to the streets to demand answers over the death of blogger Albert Ojwang, who had died under suspicious circumstances while in police custody.
Amid the protest chants and growing crowds, Boniface Kariuki, a hawker known for selling face masks in the CBD, found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was unarmed, walking away from the crowd, when two armed and masked police officers approached him. Without warning or provocation, one of them raised his firearm and shot Boniface Kariuki at point-blank range in the head, a moment captured on video by several witnesses and shared widely on social media and news platforms.
The footage was as disturbing as it was damning. It showed a young man, clearly not posing any threat, gunned down in cold blood, echoing the violence many Kenyans have experienced or feared. Boniface was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. Doctors later declared him brain-dead. He was placed on life support but eventually succumbed to his injuries on June 30, sparking widespread public grief and outrage.
Following mounting public pressure, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) initiated investigations into the incident. The two officers involved were identified as Constables Klinzy Barasa Masinde and Duncan Kiprono. Masinde, the officer who pulled the trigger, has since been charged with murder following approval by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). Kiprono, on the other hand, has been released from any charges, an outcome that has drawn mixed reactions from the public and rights organisations.
The public’s demand for accountability in this case has only grown louder, especially in light of what many see as a disturbing pattern of impunity in the police force. Groups such as the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ-Kenya) have pointed to a systemic failure in law enforcement, noting that Boniface’s death is not an isolated incident but part of a broader trend of excessive and often lethal force used by police. They have called for an immediate audit of police firearm use, a public inquest into Boniface’s killing, and broader structural reforms within the National Police Service.
High Profile Cases Of Police Brutality
This case comes on the heels of other high-profile instances of police brutality in Kenya. Among them is the controversial death of Albert Ojwang, the very blogger whose case initially sparked the protest where Boniface was shot. Police allege Ojwang took his own life in a cell, but post-mortem results and eyewitness accounts suggest foul play. Then there was the spate of killings during the 2024 anti-tax protests led by young Kenyans mobilized through digital platforms. More than 50 people are believed to have died during the demonstrations, with names like Rex Kanyike Masai becoming symbolic of a state security system that seems to treat dissent as a crime punishable by death.
Enforced disappearances have also become a chilling reality in Kenya’s recent history. Human rights groups have documented multiple cases of activists and protest organizers who vanished after being picked up by unknown operatives, only for their bodies to be discovered days or weeks later, or to never be found at all. These cases, often marked by denial from the authorities and a lack of concrete investigative outcomes, have further eroded public trust.
Beneath the headlines and social media hashtags lies a deeply rooted problem: systemic failure in police accountability and governance. Most cases of police abuse go unpunished, and even when IPOA recommends prosecutions, the outcomes are often slow or inconclusive. Since its inception, IPOA has investigated thousands of complaints, referred over a thousand for prosecution, yet actual convictions remain alarmingly rare. This gap between complaint and consequence is precisely why Kenyans continue to express a sense of helplessness in the face of police excesses.
Boniface Kariuki Death Exposes an Accountability Deficit Within The Police Force
The problem also runs deeper than just a lack of accountability. The police force continues to operate with a militarised mindset, treating protesters and civilians as enemy combatants rather than citizens to be protected. Cabinet-level statements, such as recent ones by Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen urging police to “shoot on sight” in some instances, have done little to temper this mindset. Instead, they embolden officers to act with impunity, knowing they have political cover.
What’s equally troubling is the apparent failure of leadership in reining in rogue elements within the police. Officers often cite poor working conditions, low pay, and lack of training as contributing factors to their conduct. While those concerns are valid and deserve attention, they cannot and should not excuse unlawful killings or the normalisation of brutality.
To address these challenges, Kenya must urgently pursue a series of reforms designed not just to curb police violence but to rebuild public trust. First, the government must strengthen IPOA by giving it more funding, prosecutorial powers, and independence. The body must be empowered to follow through investigations to their logical legal conclusion. Investigations into police misconduct should have strict timelines and must be made public to ensure transparency.
Use-of-force protocols also need to be overhauled. Officers should be trained to prioritize de-escalation and non-lethal alternatives. Kenya must domesticate and enforce international standards on policing, such as the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms. Firearm usage in protests should be rare, highly regulated, and subject to real-time oversight.
The police must also be demilitarised. Crowd-control units should be restructured and equipped with non-lethal tools. “Shoot to kill” directives, whether implied or explicit, must be outlawed and punished.
Community policing should be revitalised to allow for genuine cooperation between law enforcement and the public. Police officers should be seen and felt as protectors, not as threats. Regular public consultations, civilian-police liaison forums, and civic education sessions can help close the trust gap.
Moreover, internal accountability mechanisms within the police must be strengthened. Officers should undergo regular psychological evaluations, and disciplinary records should affect career progression. Whistleblower protection laws must be reinforced so that officers who witness or report misconduct are shielded from retaliation.
A robust digital complaint and data management system should also be put in place, allowing for real-time tracking of abuse hotspots, repeat offenders, and systemic failures across police units. This data should inform resource allocation, training needs, and policy interventions.
For the judiciary and prosecution services, the message must be clear: police brutality cases must be treated with urgency. Courts should prioritize these cases, and the ODPP must demonstrate consistency in pressing charges. Only then can the Kenyan public begin to believe that justice is not just a slogan but a deliverable.
Boniface Kariuki Death Shows A Broken System
The story of Boniface Kariuki must not end in a courtroom whisper or a forgotten headline. His death has become emblematic of a broken system, a young man gunned down not because he posed a threat, but because the system saw him as expendable. For his family, for the youth of Kenya, and for the future of the nation’s democracy, justice must not only be done but seen to be done.
In a country where many feel unheard and unprotected, Boniface’s death offers Kenya an opportunity to change course. The state must demonstrate that it values every Kenyan life, regardless of economic status, political opinion, or place in society. Reform is not optional, it is a moral and constitutional imperative.
Whether Kenya seizes this moment to transform its policing culture or chooses to maintain the status quo of violence and impunity remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the era of silence is over. Kenyans are watching, organizing, and speaking out. The ball is now in the government’s court, to act decisively, justly, and with urgency. Boniface Kariuki’s name must stand not only as a symbol of loss but as a rallying cry for justice and reform.
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