The recent wave of killings of dozens of people in Kenya as police cracked down on protests across the country began with the shooting of 30-year-old Rex Masai.
The killings have further undermined what little confidence there was in the police to maintain order. And as a new wave of protests looms, there are concerns about how the security forces will respond.
WARNING: This article contains descriptions of violence that some readers may find disturbing.
June 20 was the second day of protests against a financial bill that would have raised new taxes. The previous day of action had passed without major incident, but as the sun set on Thursday, something changed in the heart of the capital, Nairobi.
The protesters became more brutal, with police officers switching from using water cannons and tear gas to firing live bullets.
Mr. Masai was misled. He was shot in the thigh and bled to death.
“His blood was all over my hands,” said his friend, Ian Njuguna, who rushed to his aid as he fell to the ground.
But when he and another friend tried to carry him to a nearby hospital, “the officer fired tear gas at us as we carried our dying friend.”
“We desperately tried to talk to him and begged him not to leave us.”
At least four police officers are set to face charges for shooting and killing protesters over the past four weeks, amid growing calls for justice for victims of alleged excessive force.
But the research was difficult.
“We have had a lack of co-operation from the police and to some extent even intimidation of our officers,” John Waiganjo, a commissioner at the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), told the BBC.
However, the investigation into Mr Masai’s murder has not yet resulted in a prosecution. Detectives are trying to gather more evidence and take statements.
Mr Waiganjo did not comment on this specific case, but explained that when investigating injuries or deaths, the IPOA requires information about where the weapons involved came from and the identities of the officers allegedly involved.
The BBC has verified a video filmed around the same time and probably in the same place as Masai was killed, showing a plainclothes police officer firing into a group of protesters fleeing through the street.
Mr Njuguna said he believed his friend had been profiled by the officer who shot him because he had dreadlocks.
“He was accused of stealing a phone. There was a shop that had been looted. So they thought he was one of the looters, so they shot him – for what? Dreadlocks,” he tells the BBC, angry and frustrated.
Masai’s family says the doctor who pronounced him dead confirmed that a bullet lodged in his thigh. A wound was visible on one side, but there was no exit wound on the other side.
“When I arrived (where he died), I asked the medics to uncover my son’s body,” his mother, Gillian Munyao, told the BBC the day after the incident. She saw where the bullet had entered his leg.
After the autopsy, Mr Masai’s family and friends were shocked to find that there was no bullet in his body. They suspected that it had been removed at some point.
When the BBC informed Mr Waiganjo of the claim that there was no physical evidence, he was not surprised, as the IPOA itself was also struggling to secure items to support its investigation.
This could thwart the quest for justice, despite the IPOA’s powers to compel institutions to hand over crucial information.
The BBC has contacted acting police chief Douglas Kiricho for comment on the allegations of obstructing investigations and using excessive force against protesters.
He acknowledged the request and instructed the police spokesperson to respond to our specific questions. However, at the time of publishing, no response had been received despite repeated reminders.
The police actions have left many Kenyans with little faith in the system.
Not surprisingly, the IPOA says it has struggled to get witnesses to give evidence in Mr Masai’s case or the others, as people are often afraid to come forward. The IPOA uses allegations shared on social media of killings, arbitrary arrests and kidnappings to launch investigations.
BBC Verify has found dozens of videos covering the protests in their entirety over the past few weeks. Activists and the police overseeing the protests say there has been excessive force and abuses by police in their crackdown.
The BBC has been able to verify the locations and times of the incidents by comparing landmarks seen in the video with Google Street View and satellite map footage, local media coverage and other videos showing the same events.
The videos show shootings of unarmed protesters, baton attacks, attacks on people providing first aid, attacks on journalists and kidnappings.
In a video filmed outside the parliament building, a protester is seen walking toward police with his arms raised, before shots are heard moments later.
Later we see him being pushed into the back of a police car, screaming, with wounds on both legs.
“I didn’t do anything, I didn’t set any vehicle on fire… they shot me for nothing,” he says, showing the wounds on his legs.
“There is no justification for using live ammunition or even rubber bullets against people who are unarmed and who do not violently confront the police,” said Irungu Houghton, executive director of the Kenyan branch of human rights organization Amnesty International.
He argues that there is a clear legal framework for policing in the country. “You can’t go beyond one page without reading the words human rights and service to citizens.”
But he thinks the problem is deeply rooted in the system: “Instead of de-escalating conversations, or essentially facilitating peaceful protests, we’ve seen an attempt to block peaceful protests. And that’s where things go wrong.”
He argues that police work can succeed if leadership makes it clear that the role of the police is to de-escalate tensions.
“If the demonstrations are peaceful, the police should not use tear gas, water cannons or even live ammunition,” Waiganjo said.
Their role is to direct protesters along an agreed path and “may only use firearms if someone’s life is in danger”.
When asked if she was confident that justice would be done, Masai’s mother replied: “You know how the government works here, but I trust that it will be okay.”
“I would say to the police, in the upcoming protests, they are parents just like us. The pain we feel should be theirs. We will not take revenge. We leave it to God.”
More BBC stories on the Kenya protests:
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