The family of a man shot dead in Kitengela on Sunday, February 15, during the Linda Mwananchi rally led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has identified him as 28-year-old Vincent Ayomo.
According to his wife, Khadija Riyami, Ayomo was struck by a bullet through the eye as he was returning home from work.
“I was at home around noon when a friend of my husband called to tell me he had been shot while crossing the road from work. I rushed to look for him, but we could not find him in Kitengela. We then came to City Mortuary, and that is where we found him. The bullet had hit his eye and exited from the back of his head,” she said.
The shooting occurred as Senator Sifuna and other leaders addressed the crowd, triggering chaotic scenes in Kitengela town. Police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of supporters attending the rally, though the reason for the initial deployment remains unclear.
As the first canisters were thrown, Sifuna urged the crowd to remain calm while questioning who was behind the disruption. More tear gas followed, sending people running for safety. Boda boda riders, residents and rally attendees scattered in all directions as live bullets were reportedly fired.
Transport along Nairobi–Namanga Road was paralysed during the rally, and many shops in Kitengela closed in response to the unrest. Some youths engaged the police in running battles, while the majority chanted anti-government slogans.
Before the violence, Sifuna introduced other leaders to the crowd and thanked Kitengela residents for turning up despite alleged harassment and intimidation earlier in the morning.
“They first destroyed our dais and sound equipment, and now the state goons have teargassed a peaceful assembly. We shall not relent,” he said.
Other leaders, including Siaya Senator James Orengo and Okongo Omogeni, addressed the gathering, invoking the spirit of the late ODM party leader Raila Odinga and distancing themselves from the rival Linda Ground group in Mombasa.
“We are asking the President to demand his money back from that team in Mombasa,” Orengo told supporters, who responded with chants of “One term.”
The leaders pledged to support Sifuna, who was recently reinstated as ODM Secretary-General by the Political Parties Tribunal after being fired.
Earlier in the day, Sifuna and his team attended a church service at ACK St. Peter’s Orkeju Emanya Church in Kisaju, Kajiado County, before proceeding to Kitengela. Some supporters said they had been waiting since 6:30 am.
Police officers from various units had been deployed ahead of the rally, with security heightened in anticipation of large crowds.