I am Rex.

Subject:: Rex Kanyike Masai
Date:: 20 June 2024
Place:: Nairobi CBD
Status:: No one held responsible

He walked into the city with nothing in his hands but a phone. A bullet found his thigh. He bled out before help could reach him.

Rex Kanyike Masai was one of the first young Kenyans killed in the 2024 Finance Bill protests. More than two years later, no one has been held responsible for his death.

Light a candle for Rex Read the case file

File 01 · Time elapsed

862

days since Rex was killed. The court has not yet said who fired.

Next in court, Milimani Law Courts: 4 November 2026.

File 02 · The numbers

He was not the only one.

protest-related deaths now on the police watchdog's docket, across the 2024 and 2025 protests.: Exhibit A127protest-related deaths now on the police watchdog's docket, across the 2024 and 2025 protests.Source: IPOA, June 2026
of the 62 killings in the 2024 protests have reached a courtroom.: Exhibit B3of the 62 killings in the 2024 protests have reached a courtroom.Source: IPOA, June 2026
people forcibly disappeared during the 2024–2025 protests.: Exhibit C83people forcibly disappeared during the 2024–2025 protests.Source: Amnesty International Kenya, June 2026

File 03 · The register

Say their names.

Rex is one name. Every name here was a son, a daughter, a student, a worker, a child.

Nairobi · 2024

Rex Kanyike Masai

Shot in the thigh while running from police in the city centre. Died from loss of blood at Bliss Hospital.

12 · Kajiado · 2024

Kennedy Onyango

Went out to borrow a book from a classmate. He was not protesting. He never came home.

See all 2 names in the register →

File 04 · The inquest

Two years. No answer.

The inquest into Rex's death has heard 30 witnesses. This is what it has learned, and what it has not.

Still unknown

Who fired the shot:Not established
Which weapon was used:Not established
Where the bullet is:Not established

20 June 2024
Rex is shot in Nairobi's CBD as police disperse protesters. Friends carry him to Bliss Hospital on Moi Avenue, where he dies.
Source: Nation
2025
Former Nairobi police commanders tell the inquest there was no operational order that day, so there is no record of which officers were deployed where Rex fell.
Source: Nation
March 2026
IPOA's forensic expert confirms that footage showing a man firing at fleeing protesters is authentic.
Source: IPOA
June 2026
The lead investigator tells the court there is no bullet, no gun, no cartridge and no eyewitness. He cannot say who killed Rex.
Source: Nation
September 2026
A senior officer testifies that police CCTV in the CBD was offline that evening. The inquest closes after 30 witnesses.
Source: Nation
4 November 2026
Next mention. A date for the ruling may be set.
Pending

One tap to remember.

Then one thing to change what happens next.

File 05 · What you can do

Turn grief into a voice.

Four things you can do this year, each one inside the law.

See the four actions