Whenever an electioneering cycle approaches, it brings with it the hope of new leadership and better service to the electorate.

However, for Maina Kariuki, 38, this period is a stark reminder of the 2007 Post-Election Violence, which almost claimed his life. It also left him with a bullet fragment in his brain.

The disputed 2007 presidential election triggered ethnic violence in several parts of the country after the late former President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner over Raila Odinga.

Just a few months earlier, Kariuki had got his first job on Mombasa Road. He had moved to Nairobi from Murang'a with big dreams, but they were unexpectedly cut short.

“I remember it was in early 2008, when the post-election violence was still raging. I was on my way to work when I ran into a group of police officers, an encounter that changed the course of my life,” recalled Kariuki.

He was stopped by police officers, who ordered him and several others to help clear the barricaded road. The work left him exhausted and running late, prompting him to reconsider going to the office.

Read: Relief at last: Bullet removed from protester after 400 days

“After clearing the road, I was tired. I started walking towards work, but then I changed my mind and turned back. When I got to Soweto, I came across a crowd. The police ordered us to dismantle some burning kiosks on the road. I noticed that everyone else had disobeyed and fled, leaving me as the only person still working. Realising it was a job for more than one person, I turned to leave. The next thing I remember is falling to the ground,” said Kariuki.

“I had been hit by a stray bullet, and I could hear bystanders shouting, ' They have killed him,” he told Nation.

Maina Kariuki and his mother Ann Munani outside their home in Matopeni, Kayole, on July 29, 2026.

Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group

He was rushed to the nearby Maria Private Hospital, where he received some first aid. However, his memory of the incident is hazy, and he only remembers the doctors at the hospital wanting to sew up his wound.

It took the family several hours to find a vehicle to take him to Kenyatta National Hospital. Everyone was afraid to take the risk, as rowdy youths were attacking motorists and setting fire to their vehicles.

Shooting

Kariuki’s mother Anna Munani Kariuki still vividly remembers how she got to know of her son’s shooting at Soweto Police Station.

She says, after hearing gunshots, she started lamenting that a mother would cry that evening. Little did she know it would be her.

Ann Munani during an interview at her home in Matopeni, Kayole, on July 29, 2026, where she recounted her son's ordeal after a bullet became lodged in his head.

Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group

“I was told Maina had been shot. We went to Kayole Police Station. I wanted the officers to help me get to the hospital. I heard them ask whether it was my son who had been shot on the head. I abused the officers, and they chased me away,” said Ms Munani.

Only after she stepped in front of a police vehicle was her son taken to Kenyatta National Hospital.

Kariuki was admitted to Kenyatta National Hospital only to find that the special surgeon who was to attend to him was away trying to beat traffic to get to the hospital. The surgeon got to KNH when Kariuki was unconscious.

“At some point, I gave up; I knew I was going to die. I stayed at the Intensive Care Unit for about six days before I regained consciousness,” said Kariuki, who for almost a year had to train on how to use crutches to walk.

Ms Munani says the bullet changed her son’s life. She was left shouldering the burden of taking care of him and his two children.

“He did not want to die without getting children. I took it upon myself to find a lady whom I convinced to marry him. However, the lady later left, leaving the children behind,” says Ms Munani.

Despite the challenges, his condition worsened in 2018, a decade after the incident, when Kariuki returned to hospital after developing seizures.

Maina Kariuki (in crutches) with some of his friends at his home in Kayole on July 29, 2026.

Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group

A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan revealed that a fragment had been left inside his brain, leaving him fearful of undergoing another operation. Instead, he has relied on medication costing up to Sh7,000 a month to control the seizures.

Read: Anti-government protests: Victims nurse lifelong injuries, seek justice

“The doctors told me that chances of surviving surgery were fifty-fifty if the bullet was removed. How could I agree to undergo surgery knowing the outcome might not be favourable?” said Mr Kariuki.

The family says repeated attempts to seek justice or compensation for Kariuki were unsuccessful, eventually forcing them to give up.

“I went to the police several times, but each time I was told they were still looking into the matter. Eventually, I gave up,” said Ms Munani.

Getting justice

However, the family also seems to have had difficulty in getting justice. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority had not yet been formed when the incident occurred, and the family had not reached out to the Kenya National Human Rights Commission. Therefore, they would not be eligible for any form of compensation, including the current scheme for victims of police brutality.

Read: Explainer: Why a gunshot on the leg can be fatal

Kariuki and his family now plead with the government and well-wishers to help them seek justice.

“I now cannot do anything on my own, and I depend on my friends. I pray that my children get the help they deserve to pursue their studies,” says Kariuki.

Ms Munani, the mother, dreads her son’s struggles and hopes that he will get help so that she can get some rest.

“Sometimes I ask God not to take me before him because I don’t know who would do what I do for him. I would be so at peace if help came our way,” she said.

Friends and members of the community have urged the government to support the family.

“The bullet came from the government, not a civilian or a robber. We just want him to get help, as our efforts sometimes fall short,” said Makau Muli.

Rogers Vijedi Kafate, a youth leader from Matopeni Spring Valley Ward who has played a significant role in helping him, is asking leaders to come to his aid.

“Leaders and human rights activists should come to his aid. He lives with the pain — just imagine having a bullet in your body,” he said.

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