Phedesia Wambui, a mother to a 20-year-old man is in deep sorrow after his son who was to leave the country to Qatar for a driving job was shot in Mlango Kubwa by police who claimed that he was a hardcore criminal.
The distraught mother of four says that killing young men is not the best way to deal with crime in slum areas.
Wambui said that police should have arrested and jailed her son, even for life, instead of killing him.
Earlier on before his killing, she says her son, Kevin Gitau, had been arrested by police for allegedly snatching a phone from a woman but he was later released for lack of evidence.
She narrated her harrowing experience after receiving a message about the death of her son on April 14. Gitau was allegedly gunned down in Mlango Kubwa while on his knees.
Wamburu spoke to the Star at the Mathare Social Justice Centre offices.
“The police squad out to bust crime in this area will not be successful if they think brutalising and killing young men, mostly in their teenage, is the best tool,” she said.
Wambui said she came to know of her son’s death through her younger son at 9 pm that day. She immediately set out to verify the information at Pangani police station.
Police claim Kevin Gitau was a hardcore criminal. The mother, however, said her second born son had quit crime and was doing the legitimate business of selling fruits and juice at City Park, Nairobi.
“It all started in February when my son was reported to have snatched a phone from a certain woman. Rashid arrested him but did not take him to the police station to book him for an eventual court appearance,” she recounted.
Gitau was buried on Saturday 20th April. The area OCPD has refused to comment about the matter.