Kenyans on Twitter (KOT) are planning to hold a countrywide night vigil, in remembrance of Emmanuel and Benson Ndwiga, the student brothers who died last Sunday after allegedly falling off a moving police truck.
The two were among a group of close to 100 people, arrested as part of residents who had breached the curfew hours in the sleepy town of Kianjakoma, Embu County.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced an extension of the dusk-to-dawn curfew last Friday, which saw a fresh wave of raids by policemen across the country, targeting areas which were notorious for defying the curfew.
The two brothers were said to have been arrested at a butchery where they worked part-time, due to closure of their schools. One was a law student at Kabarak University while the other was an engineering student at the Don Bosco Technical Institute in Karen.
Their bodies were discovered at the Embu Level 5 hospital mortuary, triggering a wave of unrest’s and protests, which saw another protestor shot dead by anti-riot police, and a police Landcruiser burnt to ashes.
Deputy Inspector General Edward Mbugua visited Kianjakoma and ordered the transfer of the Manyatta Police Station OCS Emily Ngaruiya and the OCPD Abdillahi Yahya, even as the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) launched their own investigations into the mysterious death of the two.
Kenyans on Twitter have been trending the hashtag #JusticeForKianjokomaBrothers for the better part of last week, and prominent activists like Wandia Njoya have launched the #LightsOutKE night vigil in remembrance of the two.
They’re calling on Kenyans to turn off the lights in their houses, and switch off their televisions for 30 minutes between 9-9.30pm tonight 8/8/21.
