Investigations into the fatal shooting of 28-year-old youth mobiliser Cecil Otieno Ouma have gathered pace, with police questioning seven people, including two bodyguards attached to Youth Affairs Principal Secretary (PS) Fikirini Jacobs, as detectives seek to establish the circumstances that led to his death.

Ouma died on Tuesday after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds following a youth empowerment forum held at Kariokor Social Hall in Nairobi, an event attended by the Principal Secretary. The incident has drawn public attention, with investigators now examining witness accounts, forensic evidence and ballistic reports to determine how the shooting occurred.

According to investigators, statements have been recorded from seven individuals connected to the incident. Among those questioned are the two security officers assigned to the PS and a senior official from the Ministry of Youth Affairs who was travelling in the same vehicle as Jacobs at the time of the incident.

As part of the investigation, detectives have recovered firearms issued to the two bodyguards for ballistic analysis. The examination is expected to determine whether either weapon discharged the bullets that fatally struck Ouma. Police are also analysing spent cartridges and other forensic evidence collected from the scene.

The shooting occurred shortly after the conclusion of a government-sponsored youth empowerment forum at Kariokor Social Hall. Ouma was reportedly among the organisers who had mobilised young people to attend the event.

The circumstances leading to the shooting remain disputed.

According to witnesses and relatives of the deceased, Ouma had been tasked with mobilising participants for the forum. They allege that after the event, the Principal Secretary gave him Sh10,000 to distribute among the youths who had attended. Witnesses claim some of the attendees considered the amount inadequate and requested that the money be returned.

They further allege that Ouma approached the Principal Secretary’s vehicle to hand back the cash, after which an altercation occurred. He was later found with multiple gunshot wounds and rushed to Park Road Nursing Home, where he was pronounced dead.

However, an initial police report presents a different account of the events.

According to the report filed at Pangani Police Station, the Principal Secretary’s convoy was surrounded by a group of people demanding money as it prepared to leave the venue. Police stated that some individuals allegedly damaged vehicles in the convoy and stole mobile phones from security officers during the confrontation.

The report further states that bodyguards fired warning shots into the air in an attempt to disperse the crowd. At the time the report was filed, officers did not indicate that anyone had been shot or injured. It was only later, after Park Road Nursing Home notified police that a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds had died, that investigators began treating the matter as a fatal shooting. Detectives are now working to reconcile the differing accounts and establish where the bullets that killed Ouma were fired.

An autopsy on Ouma’s body was scheduled for Thursday as investigators seek to determine the precise cause of death and the trajectory of the bullets. The post-mortem findings are expected to complement ballistic examinations and witness testimony in helping reconstruct the events leading to the shooting.

Police have not announced any arrests, and no charges have been preferred against any individual in connection with the case. Authorities have maintained that investigations remain active and that decisions on possible criminal charges will depend on the outcome of forensic examinations and the evidence gathered.

The case has attracted significant public interest because the fatal shooting occurred shortly after an official government event attended by senior state officials. It has also renewed debate over the use of firearms by security personnel assigned to public officials and the need for accountability whenever deadly force is alleged to have been used.

Detectives continue to interview witnesses and review available evidence as they seek to establish a complete account of the incident before forwarding the investigation file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for further action.