At Christmas last year, a Kenyan lady residing in the US with her family made a thoughtful statement denouncing gun violence in the state where she and her family are residents.

She had no idea her 20-year-old son would tragically die from gun violence two months later in a weird turn of events.

We spent Christmas thinking about the Kenyan flag and how to keep peace in Kenya after the 2022 election. We are now requesting protection for Charlottesville, Virginia. Let's say no to gun violence, and the mother penned in a statement published over the holiday season.

Her son, Justice Kigen Kilel, was shot and killed in a Virginia grocery on March 4, 2023.


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Around 2 pm, Charlottesville Police Department (CPD) officers responded to a shooting at Sunshine Grocery, according to local news reports.

According to preliminary investigations, Kilel was inside the store making a purchase when he got into a fight with two other people, which led to the shooting. Kilel was already dead when police arrived at the scene of the shooting.

Later, the UVA Medical Center informed the police station that a patient with a gunshot wound had been admitted. Upon his admission, the 17-year-old suspect was charged with second-degree murder and using a weapon during a crime.

Since he is a minor, the police have chosen not to publicize his name.

One count of malicious wounding has been brought against the second suspect, 19-year-old Nasier McGhee, who was apprehended at an apartment complex in Albemarle County.


At Kenya's Kapsirchoi, Kapsabet, Kilel will be laid to rest. His kin has established a GoFundMe page to help them earn money to transport his remains to Kenya and bury him there. For the burial, the family is attempting to gather Sh4.5 million (US$35,000).

The deceased's mother described her son as a climate change activist who supported sustainable agriculture and healthy living. She also posted a video of Kilel using a hoe to prepare a vegetable garden on her Facebook page.