Emotions ran high on Friday in Githunguri village in Murang’a as slain hawker Boniface Kariuki was laid to rest amid intense calls from family, friends, relatives, and the Opposition for justice.

Mourners in their thousands, who turned up for the burial, called for the resignation of President William Ruto and claimed the blood of the 23-year-old hawker lay on his hands.

Those who spoke accused the President of running a terror enterprise, targeting innocent Kenyans, and described the deaths that have been witnessed as unacceptable.

Mwangi was shot dead by officers on June 17 as Kenyans demonstrated over the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang’, who had died in police custody.

On Friday, Mwangi’s parents, Jonah Kariuki Nyambura and Susan Njeri Kariuki, stood shoulder-to-shoulder, faces etched with pain and eyes red, after several days of mourning their loved one.

They never left their son’s side. They were the first to receive the body from the hearse, their trembling hands resting on the coffin as if refusing to let go.

“We sent him to school. We prayed for his future. And now we are burying him because of a gun,” murmured Njeri, barely able to stand.

She clutched a framed photo of her son, whispering prayers no one could hear but everyone could feel.

Jonah, too grief-stricken to speak much, simply stared at the earth. His son’s life — once full of promise — was now reduced to memories and mourning.

No words could capture the hollowness in his eyes.

The mourners, drawn from across the country, gathered under trees, umbrellas, and makeshift tents. Most wore black; others carried handmade placards with messages of sorrow and protest. One read simply: “Justice for Boniface.” Another: “Stop Killing Our Youth.”

The Opposition painted a picture of betrayal, brutality, and repression under a regime they said had abandoned constitutional values and instead turned the state into a weapon against its people.

Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka said Boniface’s death was a tragic consequence of State failure and a betrayal of the values Kenya was built on.

He said the killing symbolised the widening gap between the government and the people, especially the youth, who once hoped for a better tomorrow under the current leadership.

“He was born during the Kibaki era, a time when the nation was rebuilding itself and restoring hope. Today, under President Ruto, our sons are being hunted like criminals for daring to demand justice and good governance. This is not the Kenya we envisioned,” he said.

Kalonzo condemned what he termed the criminalisation of dissent, from arbitrary arrests to violent crackdowns on peaceful demonstrations.

“They are even arresting journalists and branding them terrorists, simply because they tell the truth. What kind of leader fights the press and mourners instead of standing with families in grief? Boniface’s death is not just a loss to Murang’a but to the entire nation,” he said.

He declared that it was time for Parliament to act decisively and bring the President to account.

“If Parliament lacks the courage to do the right thing, then let Kenyans prepare to correct this mistake in 2027,” he said.

Former Attorney General Justin Muturi described the current administration as rogue and lawless, saying it is unthinkable that a government meant to protect lives had turned its guns on its own citizens.

“We have reached a dangerous point where the State has become the predator, not the protector. Boniface was not a criminal, he was a Kenyan youth with dreams, gunned down by a system that now fears its own people,” he said.

Muturi expressed frustration with Parliament’s inaction, accusing MPs and senators of failing the people by allowing executive excesses to go unchecked. He said if Kenya had an effective legislature, the President would already be behind bars.

“The silence of Parliament in the face of these killings is shameful. It suggests complicity or cowardice. If the institutions of justice are captured, then the people must rise and reclaim them,” he added.

Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata called Boniface’s death a painful lesson that Kenya’s youth are dangerously exposed and insufficiently protected, adding that the government was losing touch with the very generation it needed to empower, warning that unless drastic action was taken, the country was headed towards disaster.

“The government is failing the youth, and that failure is killing them — literally. Boniface was not just another protester; he was a symbol of a generation crying out to be seen, heard, and respected,” Kang’ata said.

He said the economic system was failing the youth and called for a complete policy overhaul.

“We must move from bullets to business, from teargas to technology. The youth of this country need jobs, not coffins,” he said.

Naivasha MP Jane Kihara, once a close ally of President Ruto, said Boniface’s killing marked a dark chapter in Kenya’s democratic history.

“I supported the President because I believed in his vision. But now, what we are witnessing is a total disregard for the sanctity of life and for the voices of the people who raised him to power,” she said.

Former Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau accused the President of sanctioning extrajudicial killings. He said Boniface’s death was not an accident but a consequence of deliberate orders passed down the chain of command.

Embakasi North MP James Gakuya said the government had lost its moral compass. He pointed fingers at both Ruto and Raila Odinga, claiming both had become comfortable in power and detached from the plight of the people.

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah said the country was witnessing a terrifying militarisation of civilian space.

Democratic Action Party leader Eugene Wamalwa called for a complete rejection of Ruto’s leadership.