A woman who was shot during protests in Kisumu at the weekend might have to live with a bullet in her body for the rest of her life. Others are fighting for their lives in hospital, with doctors saying they are lucky to be alive. Georgina Were, 27, captures the impact of the violent encounter between police and protesters in Kisumu after President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner of the presidential election.
Ms Were was shot in the buttocks as she ran back to her house in Manyatta on Saturday morning. Doctors at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital fear that Were may never walk again if the bullet is removed because it is dangerously close to the spinal cord. The hospital’s chief executive officer, Juliana Otieno, said Were will be able to lead a normal life with the bullet in her body after the wound heals in six months’ time.
Residents say most of the victims, including a four-year-old child, were assaulted by police in their homes or on their way home or at the shops. In the hospital’s surgical ward, David Okoth and Joab Opiyo are also nursing gunshot wounds. The two narrowly escaped death after they were shot by police.