'He was a widower and father of five,' Family of man killed by police in London estate speak

Daniel Nderitu’s family is in mourning.

Nderitu was shot dead by a police officer during a confrontation between residents in London and the police last week.

In an interview with Mtaa Wangu, his sister, Zipporah Njeri, describes Nderitu as a great family man who strived to provide for his children.
“My brother was a father of five and was widowed in 2023. Since then, he has been raising his children on his own. He has been blasting rocks by hand so that he can make ends meet. I don’t know why the police had to take his life. He was a quiet man in the community who was loved by many,” she describes him.

Njeri notes the 47-year-old had lost his first-born child last year, something that understandably broke him.
“We buried the wife in 2023, the firstborn child in 2024, and now him this year. This is a huge loss to this family, especially to the children who have been left orphaned at the ages of 16, 15, 12, and eight respectively,” Njeri says, as she adds all the family wants is justice for their brother.

In a phone interview, Nderitu’s brother, Patrick Mwangi Maina, says they are yet to bury their brother as they await the court hearing scheduled for June 17.
“As a family, it has been hard for us. We are waiting on what will be said in court tomorrow before we settle on a date to bury my younger brother,” he says in a heavy voice.

In a phone interview with the Regional Coordinator of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), Japheth Kaimenyi, he notes the authority will be getting back to court to seek more days to conduct their investigations.
“Seven police officers were arrested, and we proceeded to court to apply for a miscellaneous application so that we could hold the officers for seven days and undertake our investigations. However, the seven days elapse on June 17. We will be moving to court to seek seven more days,” he notes.

Kaimenyi notes that the bullet that had been lodged in Nderitu’s body was recovered and sent for DNA analysis at the government chemist, and later for ballistics analysis.
“Having received the results back on June 16, by tomorrow we will not have concluded the investigations and compiled the report in time, therefore the reason we are looking to seek seven more days,” he explains.