Kisii: Single Mum Demands Compensation after She Was Shot in Her House During Gen Z Protests

 

Gladys Kerubo 

Months after anti-government protests gripped the nation, many victims are still grappling with the aftermath.  Gladys Kerubo revealed her husband abandoned her after she got injured.  Among them is Gladys Kerubo, a single mother of seven from Kisii, who was left disabled after being hit by a stray bullet while inside her home. Kerubo vividly recounts events leading up to her near-fatal shooting when police officers dispersed protesters with teargas.  Seeking safety, she and others retreated to their house on the third floor, but the situation took a deadly turn when gunshots were fired, and a bullet pierced through her left arm, passed through her chest, and exited her right arm, leaving her disabled. "They started throwing teargas, and we saw that the situation was getting intense, so we went back to the house, on the third floor, and stayed there. While we were inside, they started shooting, and a bullet came into the house. It hit my left arm, went through my chest, and was removed from my right arm," Kerubo shared.

How has the shooting changed Kerubo's life The injury has severely impacted her ability to care for her children, as tasks like cooking and washing clothes have become unbearable. "Right now, I am in pain, and I can’t do any work; cooking is hard, and washing clothes is difficult. I continue to suffer with my children, and getting food for the house is a struggle. The children just cry, and I won’t be able to go and do any casual jobs to help them," she lamented. Kerubo, who was abandoned by her husband after the injury, revealed she depends on the kindness of well-wishers. She appealed to the national government to compensate her for the injuries so she could provide for her school-going children. Richard Oyaro, a local village elder, echoed her sentiments, saying the government had abandoned victims of the protests. "The people who were injured during the protests seem to have been forgotten; there hasn’t even been a bit of assistance provided." 

by  Didacus Malowa