A man purportedly gunned down by the police on Wednesday succumbed to a gunshot wound on the abdomen, an autopsy conducted on Friday, March 7, has confirmed. This is in contrast to an initial report from the police that he was killed by a stabbing.
The autopsy report verifies that 26-year-old Dennis Muthui, who was allegedly shot by police in Nairobi’s Majengo area, was shot at close range in the belly with a small-caliber firearm, contradicting the initial police assertion that he was stabbed.
The government’s postmortem findings found Muthui was shot at close range, contradicting assertions by the police that he had been robbed by thugs.
Government chief pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor, who carried out the autopsy, found that the bullet disintegrated inside the stomach of Muthui, leaving a number of fragments. Plastic and gun pellets were also found in his abdomen, with Haki Africa Director Hussein Khalid stating that Oduor removed seven bullet pieces from his stomach during the autopsy.
Bullet Recovered from Stomach as Autopsy Confirms Muthui’s Fatal Gunshot Wound
“The bullet shattered in the stomach, leaving multiple fragments. Medical examiners retrieved at least seven pellets from the remains,” said Khalid.
Dennis Muthui was gunned down on Wednesday morning in Majengo as protests broke out over police shooting to death 17-year-old Ibrahim Ramadan. Eyewitnesses on the ground reported that a police officer who was among those sent to disperse the riots fired the killing shot that struck Muthui in the stomach, killing him instantly.
This completely puts to rest allegations that he was stabbed. The evidence is that he was shot and killed. From witness statements, the murderer claimed to be a police officer,” Khalid said at a press briefing.
The National Police Service then released a statement alleging Muthui was stabbed—a direct contradiction of forensic data. His body was taken to the Nairobi City Mortuary.
The postmortem report has been taken over by the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA), which has opened an investigation into the murder. Authorities have since interdicted the officer who allegedly shot Muthui.
The family of Muthui is demanding swift action, urging authorities to ensure accountability and justice.
During the Majengo protests, two to three people were reportedly killed and a number of others injured. The violence followed after Ibrahim Ramadhan, aged 17, was reportedly shot dead by police on March 4, 2025, triggering mass protests.
The death toll is not known. The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) confirmed two deaths, one of whom was Muthui, but reported that the second body vanished when police allegedly removed it from the scene. Other accounts report a third victim died as a result of gunshot injuries, bringing the death toll to three.
Injured individuals were reported in varying numbers. Eight people who suffered from gunshot wounds were recorded by KHRC, six of them were treated at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital.
The Kenya Red Cross, however, stated that it had treated 37 casualties, two of them seriously injured and admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital and one at Pumwani Maternity Hospital.