The last preventable seconds of Bernard Mungai’s life, before he died at the Sunbeam Shopping Complex, were characterised by confusion and aggression.
The Sunbeam Shopping Complex in the CBD in Nairobi was burnt on the 25th of June 2024, as a result of the protest against the Finance Bill 2024.
The elaborate peaceful protests were executed by thuggies who vandalized the complex and other structures in the vicinity. Matters got worse when the police who were trying to disperse the looters threw teargas canisters into the building.
This led to a huge fire that grounded the six-storied building, and people were choked inside the building. Mungai was among those that were trapped in the inferno.
His lifeless and blackened corpse was found several days later amid the wreckage as authorities tried to sort out what had happened.
Later, people saw the great amount of destruction and many business owners lost all their property. The complex was once filled with various shops and businesses that made it the heart of the city but now it is an epitome of all the mayhem that occurred.
This was not only witnessed in Sunbeam but also in other parts of Nairobi CBD business district where property was also destroyed and many lives lost.
The police specialists have started to work to find out who is to blame for the riots, and how much was destroyed. The untimely loses show the extent or vulnerability in allowing violence to take centre stage in any protests thus enforcing the need for better precaution to be taken in order to minimize the loss of lives and property during future protests.
VIDEO: https://x.com/citizentvkenya/status/1809621084217450519