Twelve-year-old Bridget Njoki Wainaina was at home in Ndumberi, Kiambu, when a bullet tore through the wall and ended her life. She had stayed away from school on Sunday, July 7, as tension rose across the country during the Saba Saba demonstrations.
It was meant to be a day of protest. For Bridget's family, it became one of unimaginable grief.
Her mother, Jacinta Wainaina, spoke to reporters outside their modest home, still in shock.
“It was around 6:20 in the evening when we heard a loud bang,” she said. “At first, I thought maybe something had scratched her. But then I saw a hole in her head and blood on her hands. I screamed.”
Bridget was rushed to St. Bridget’s Hospital, barely five minutes away. Doctors tried to resuscitate her, then prepared her for emergency surgery. But her heart had stopped.
She was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
Rising Toll, Growing Anger
Bridget's death has reignited national outrage over police conduct during protests, especially the growing number of children killed by stray bullets. She is the second 12-year-old to die in less than two weeks in similar circumstances.
On 1 July, during a night of violence linked to the Gen Z-led protests, Kennedy Onyango, also 12, was shot and killed while running a simple errand—retrieving a schoolbook from a friend.
Both children had no part in the protests that have swept Kenya in recent weeks. Yet both are now victims of a state response many say has become increasingly unrestrained.
Leaders Point Fingers at Interior Ministry
Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba was among the first politicians to speak out.
“I’m in pain. Defeated,” she wrote in a social media post. “We warned about the shoot-to-kill order. Now a 12-year-old girl is dead. Was she a threat?”
Wamuchomba laid the blame squarely on Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who came under fire last week after making controversial remarks authorising police to “shoot anyone who approaches a police station.”
Murkomen's comments, made in the aftermath of the 25 June protests, sparked backlash from human rights groups, opposition leaders, and international observers. While his office has not publicly addressed the deaths of Bridget or Kennedy, calls for his resignation or impeachment are mounting.
Grief Beyond Words
Bridget was described by her mother as a “respectful, hardworking girl” who had dreams of becoming a doctor.
“She had so many plans,” Jacinta said, barely holding back tears. “We’ve lost everything.”
Outside the family home, neighbours stood in silence. A small cross leaned against the wall. Children peered out from doorways, whispering her name.
Mounting Pressure on Authorities
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) says it has opened an investigation into the incident. So far, the Ministry of Interior and the National Police Service have not released any official statement.
Rights groups, including Amnesty International Kenya, have renewed their calls for restraint by law enforcement and independent investigations into police killings during protests.
According to recent reports, over 40 people have died in protest-related violence since late June, with dozens more missing or injured. Many of those affected are under 25.
A Nation in Mourning—and Waiting
As Kenya continues to navigate a wave of unrest, the deaths of children like Bridget and Kennedy weigh heavily on the national conscience.
Their names now echo in chants from Nairobi to Kisumu. Their photos appear on placards and murals. And in homes like the Wainainas’, where a bed now lies empty, their absence is a searing reminder of the cost of silence—and the urgency for change.