Three Years On: Father Still Seeking Justice for Nakuru Schoolgirl Shot Dead

For more than three years, Leonard Ogunyo has attended proceedings at Nakuru Law Courts as he waits for the case concerning the death of his daughter, Whitney Atieno, to move forward.

Whitney, a 19-year-old Form Four student at Nakuru Central Secondary School, was shot dead on 12 June 2022 during a police operation in Lake View Estate, Nakuru. Her friend, Ruth Waithera, then aged 18, was seriously injured in the same incident. The officer implicated is Chief Inspector Erick Mukone Wekesa, who was serving as the Bondeni Officer Commanding Station at the time.

According to investigations, Chief Inspector Wekesa was leading an operation targeting suspected members of the outlawed Confirm gang when he allegedly fired the shot that killed Whitney. The two girls had gone to a nearby salon to have their hair braided and were not linked to the police operation.

A post-mortem examination conducted by government pathologist Dr Titus Ngulungu established that Whitney died from massive internal bleeding caused by a single gunshot wound. The examination further indicated that the shot was fired at close range. Whitney was buried on 2 July 2022 in Siaya County.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority completed its investigations and forwarded the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions. In October 2024, the DPP recommended that Chief Inspector Wekesa be charged with murder. Court summons were issued the same month, but the officer did not appear. His lawyer informed the court that he was unwell and awaiting surgery.

Subsequent hearings did not proceed. In January 2026, the DPP recalled the case file for further review, effectively halting progress once again. The matter has since remained unresolved.

Mr Ogunyo has repeatedly attended court sessions, hoping the case will be mentioned or fixed for hearing. He has maintained that his daughter was unarmed and posed no threat. He has called on the courts to allow the prosecution to proceed without further delay.

He recalls that Whitney briefly regained consciousness while receiving treatment and spoke to him moments before her death. She later succumbed to her injuries at hospital.

The impact of Whitney’s death has continued to affect her family. Her younger sister, Stacey, now a student at Maseno University, said the loss has been difficult to cope with and that the prolonged legal process has compounded their grief.