The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has interviewed key witnesses and collected critical evidence as it investigates the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy in Mombasa on New Year’s Eve.
Dennis Ringa Swaleh died at Utange-Swale Nguru Shopping Centre in Kisauni Subcounty after he was shot during celebrations that welcomed 2026.
IPOA investigators attended the postmortem examination on 5 January 2026, three days after launching the probe.
The examination revealed the Grade Six pupil was shot from behind, a detail that has intensified calls for accountability from human rights organisations and the victim’s family.
“Key witnesses including police officers and members of the public have been interviewed and their statements recorded,” noted Ahmed Issack Hassan, IPOA chairperson, in a statement released on Tuesday, January 6.
The Authority has obtained evidence from the scene and police documents, which investigators have preserved for the ongoing inquiry.
Additional witnesses are scheduled to be interviewed and some collected evidence will be submitted for ballistic examination.
Eyewitnesses reported that two police officers approached a group of young people who were celebrating the New Year.
One officer was in uniform whilst the other wore civilian clothes. The youths scattered when they saw the officers, and Ringa was shot as he ran.
Steve Dena, a neighbour who observed the incident, heard a gunshot that prompted him to emerge from his house.
“I saw a man outside. I could see him shooting at someone, though I could not tell who it was because his hand was partly blocking my view,” said Dena.
Nancy Kwekwe Mbaga, the boy’s mother, expressed anguish over her son’s death. “I am in pain after losing my child, who was simply celebrating the New Year. I had seen him shortly after midnight before going home to rest because I was tired from work. Later, people came to inform me that my son had been shot. What had he done?” said Mbaga.
Ringa had recently sat the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment and was awaiting results before joining secondary school.
The Authority plans to forward the investigation file to the Director of Public Prosecutions with recommendations regarding the culpability of the officers involved once the probe is completed.
“The Authority condoles with the family and friends of the deceased and pray that they find solace at this difficult time,” said Hassan, who emphasised IPOA’s commitment to fair, impartial and independent investigations.
The shooting has drawn condemnation from human rights organisations. Vocal Africa chief executive officer Hussein Khalid observed that the postmortem results confirm Ringa posed no threat when he was killed.
“The postmortem results confirm that 14-year-old Dennis Ringa was shot from behind, providing irrefutable evidence that he posed no threat when he was killed by police in Utange, Mombasa,” noted Khalid in a statement.
The incident adds to a series of controversial police shootings in Kenya over recent years, including the 2021 killing of the Kianjokoma brothers in Embu, the 2024 shooting of Rex Kanyeki Masai during anti-Finance Bill protests and the June 2025 death of street vendor Boniface Kariuki during demonstrations in Nairobi.
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