A dark cloud of sorrow hung over Githunguri, Kiambu County, as family and friends gathered to bid a heartbreaking farewell to 12-year-old Bridget Njoki, a young life tragically cut short during the Saba Saba protests.
Bridget, who was fatally shot while resting beside her mother in their living room, was laid to rest in an emotional ceremony that highlighted not just grief, but a growing call for accountability over police brutality in Kenya.
AN INNOCENT LIFE LOST TO A STRAY BULLET
Mourners described Bridget’s funeral as one of the most painful in recent memory. Her small white coffin, carried gently by family members, became a haunting symbol of the innocent lives lost to excessive force during civil unrest.
“The smallest coffins are the heaviest,” one mourner whispered, echoing the collective heartbreak of the community.
In her tearful tribute, Lucy Ngugi, Bridget’s mother, spoke of shattered dreams and a future that would never come.
“Saba Saba will never be the same. I thought you’d grow up and become a beautiful woman. You were taken too soon, and it wasn’t an accident — someone fired that bullet,” she said with trembling conviction.
Bridget’s classmates sent moving farewell messages, their innocent words piercing through the somber silence of the church service. Though opposition leaders were present at the funeral, they were not given an opportunity to address mourners.
SECOND VICTIM BURIED AS PAIN SPREADS THROUGH KIAMBU
In Ndeiya, also in Kiambu County, 24-year-old Joseph Kagiri was laid to rest. Kagiri was one of five individuals reportedly shot by police during protests in Ngong, Embulbul, and Kiserian. His family described him as a hardworking young man trying to earn a living before his life was violently taken.
“We’re heartbroken. He was just trying to survive,” said Hezron Junior, Joseph’s cousin.
“This pain is deep. We are still in shock,” added Monica Wanjiri, Joseph’s aunt.
Unlike Bridget’s burial, no government officials or local administrators attended Kagiri’s funeral — a silence many described as deafening, considering the growing cries for justice.
FUNERAL UNCERTAINTY IN NYERI
Meanwhile, in Nyeri, the family of Harrison Wachira — the man whose harrowing video of being dragged by police in Juja Town went viral — is struggling to raise funds for his burial, scheduled for Friday. The emotional and financial toll on these families continues to mount, even as calls for justice grow louder across the country.
DEMANDS FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Both Bridget and Joseph’s families insist that closure is impossible without truth and accountability. Their pain is now part of a larger national conversation surrounding police brutality, youth rights, and the limits of state power during public demonstrations.
“We don’t want another family to go through this. We want answers. We want justice,” said a family friend at Joseph’s burial.
