Family of Slain Thika Student Decry Delay in Postmortem Results

Thika, Kenya 

A month after 22-year-old Victor Otieno, a student at Thika Technical Training Institute, was fatally shot by police in Juja, his grieving family is crying out for justice, saying they are trapped in an endless cycle of bureaucracy and silence.

Otieno was gunned down on June 25, 2025, under circumstances still shrouded in mystery. Since then, his family has neither received a postmortem report nor any clear explanation from authorities. The delay, they say, is not just painful, it is deliberate.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. We are being tossed between IPOA and the police. The postmortem results are crucial for us to initiate legal action, yet we’re being kept in the dark,” says Victor Sankara, the victim’s cousin.

According to the family, police claim that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) must approve the release of the postmortem findings. IPOA, on the other hand, says it has yet to receive any official statement from the police. The resulting stalemate has left the family helpless and deeply frustrated.

“I’ve walked from the police to IPOA offices so many times this past month. We just want the truth. My son is gone, and nobody is taking responsibility,” said Patrick Oduor, Victor’s father.

On his part, Mwaura Mwaniki, the Vice Chairman of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Thika Chapter, slammed the delay, accusing the police of orchestrating a cover-up.

“Victor was not just a statistic. He was a son, a student, a human being. It’s hypocrisy that the same police accused of killing him are now investigating the case. They know who did it, and they must stop pretending,” Mwaniki said.

The outrage has also spread among students at Thika Technical Training Institute.

Jesse Wanyiri, one of Victor’s classmates, lamented that instead of celebrating their final exams, they were forced to bury a friend.

“Victor should be graduating with us, not lying six feet under. This justice system protects the powerful and tramples on the poor. IPOA and NCIC must stop treating this like a routine case. We demand justice and we’ll fight for it, even if it costs our blood,” he declared.

Victor's case has now become a rallying point in the broader fight against police brutality and accountability failures in Kenya. His family, backed by civil society voices, is calling on the Director of Public Prosecutions, IPOA and the National Police Service to break the silence and deliver justice before more lives are lost.