Police Constable Emily Kinya has spoken out from her hospital bed after surviving a brutal attack during anti-government protests in Nairobi last Wednesday. Kinya was deployed along Muindi Mbingu Street to help control crowds marking the anniversary of last year’s demonstrations. What began as a routine assignment quickly turned into a nightmare.
In a viral video, Kinya is seen running alongside fellow unarmed officers before stumbling and falling. Protesters quickly descended upon her. “The protesters overwhelmed us,” she recalled. “As we were withdrawing, I got hit on the foot, and then I fell. That’s when they caught up with me.”
Kinya, a mother of two and a member of the National Police Service since 2013, suffered a head wound and a soft tissue injury on her foot. She also lost her phone and police gear in the chaos. More chillingly, she said some demonstrators encouraged others to kill her. “Luckily, a few tried to shield me. But there were those behind who kept hitting me and chanting, ‘Let’s kill her. They’ve killed one of us.’”
The injured officer was eventually saved by a group of protesters who carried her to an ambulance while she was bleeding. Her children, she said, remain deeply traumatized. “We are human beings too. Our lives matter,” Kinya pleaded, adding that the terrifying moment was “short but ugly.”
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen condemned the attack and warned against violence targeting police officers. He assured that firm action would be taken against those responsible and urged officers to protect themselves. “When someone comes to the police station and wants to take over the government’s office, the police gun and your life, shoot him,” Murkomen said.
As investigations continue, Kinya’s story underscores the deep tensions between law enforcement and protesters in Kenya’s ongoing political unrest. Her emotional testimony serves as a stark reminder of the personal toll such violence takes on all involved and the urgent need for restraint and dialogue to avoid further tragedies.
