Residents of Nanyuki on Monday poured into the streets to protest the death of 24-year-old Julie Njoki, who died last week under unclear circumstances while in police custody.
Njoki was arrested on July 7 while walking home after the Saba Saba protests.
Her family insists she was not part of the demonstrations, but she was picked up by police during the chaos.
She was taken to the Nanyuki Police Station and later charged in court, where she was granted bail of KSh 50,000.
Unable to raise the amount, Njoki remained in custody.
Her family says she was assaulted while behind bars and was later rushed to hospital with head injuries. She died a few days later.
“We are still trying to understand what really happened. Julie left home healthy,” a family member told reporters over the weekend.Njoki’s death has added to growing anger over police conduct during recent protests.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) last week updated the number of protest deaths at 31.
A postmortem is expected to be carried out on Tuesday to determine the cause of death. The family is demanding accountability.
