Police in Likoni, Mombasa County, on Tuesday, January 7, is alleged to have fatally shot a 14-year-old boy associated with a local criminal gang.
Likoni Sub-County Police Commander Geoffrey Ruheni confirmed the incident, stating that officers responded to a distress call from residents reporting a robbery in progress.
Ruheni alleged that the 14-year-old, identified as Hamisi Ibrahim, was a member of a juvenile gang that was carrying out the robbery while armed with machetes.
"They proceeded with pangas towards the police officers. The officers had no option but to use their firearms," Ruheni told the press.
However, according to the deceased's mother, her son had left home to visit his friend before he was shot dead.
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She stated that Ibrahim, a Grade 9 pupil, did report to school on that day because his school uniform was still with the tailor. She claimed that her son was not a gangster.
“He finished taking tea at my mother’s house and said he wanted to leave to visit his friend while the tailor was working on his uniform. Moments later, we heard a gunshot.
"I’m pained as a parent for my son to lose his life painfully through a headshot. My son was not a thief and I’ve not heard any such allegations against him,” the distraught mother told the media.
The incident comes days after police in Mombasa arrested eight suspected robbers who were alleged to be behind a spate of robbery incidents in the region.
