Dr. Davji Atellah, the Secretary General of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), has accused the Kenya police of attempting to assassinate him.
Atellah spoke after he regained consciousness after undergoing surgery after sustaining injuries from a gunshot to his head during a doctors’ protest on Thursday.
The incident has drawn widespread criticism for the excessive force employed by the police.
Speaking from his hospital bed at Nairobi Hospital, Dr. Atellah recounted the events leading to his injury, identifying the officer who shot him as the OCS at Capital Hill Police Station, Evans Kangangi.
“We were just moving down in a procession then the police came and parked in front of us and immediately, we were about 200 meters away, and the first shot he took hit my head,” Atellah said.
Feeling that he was deliberately targeted, Dr. Atellah expressed his fear and uncertainty about the severity of his injury.
“I was very scared…I thought that because the bleeding was profuse and I did not know the degree of the injury,” Atellah added.
Dr. Dennis Miskellah, the Deputy Secretary General of KMPDU, supported Dr. Atellah’s account, emphasizing, “This point-blank headshot had no other intention than to kill Davji, especially after the same officer had earlier aimed at the SG and shot at him.”
Following the incident, Dr. Atellah underwent surgery at Nairobi Hospital and is currently receiving care in the High Dependency Unit (HDU).
The protests were organized by KMPDU to address issues such as the delayed posting of medical interns and the payment of fees for postgraduate students.
The demonstration began peacefully, with medics marching from the Kenya Medical Association Centre to the Ministry of Health offices and intending to proceed to the National Treasury headquarters. However, they were dispersed by the police before reaching their destination.
In a letter to the Nairobi Regional Police Commander, Dr. Atellah had notified of the planned peaceful protest in Nairobi. However, the events took a violent turn, resulting in injuries and condemnation of police actions.
