Digital content creator Kabugi has called for urgent measures to address insecurity in Juja following the death of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) student and TikToker Derrick Omollo.
Omollo, 21, died after falling into an abandoned quarry while fleeing from four men who had confronted him and his colleagues during a content-creation outing in Juja, Kiambu County.
Police said Omollo and three fellow students had travelled to the area to shoot content when they were confronted by men armed with knives who demanded their phones.
Three of the students managed to escape, but Omollo fell into the quarry, which was estimated to be about 40 metres deep.
His death has since triggered concern among students and content creators, with Kabugi questioning the security situation in Juja and demanding answers from those responsible for keeping residents safe.
Reacting to Omollo’s death, Kabugi said the young TikToker was only beginning to gain recognition while pursuing self-employment through content creation.
“Omollo was very young, ndio ameingia kwa limelight ndio tumeanza kumjua, alikuwa self-employed, what we all are advocating for, aliuliwa akiwa in the line of content creation, they were in the set shooting ndio wakakuja kuibiwa,” Kabugi said.
Although he did not know Omollo personally, Kabugi said he had followed his work online and was deeply saddened by the circumstances surrounding his death.
“I did not know him on a personal level, but nilimjua na videos zake; it is so painful to see a comrade go that way,” he added.
Kabugi further described insecurity in Juja as a longstanding concern, saying residents had experienced robberies and killings in the area.
“Juja si mara ya kwanza watu kuibiwa na kuuliwa, watu kuibiwa kwa manyumba zao, we need answers tuko hadi na DCI. Juja kuna hadi DCI headquarters,” Kabugi stated.
He also questioned whether elected leaders were doing enough to address the security challenges facing residents.
“Do we even have elected leaders? Juu sijawai waona kwa anything inaendelea Juja, we need someone responsible for all this,” he questioned.
Omollo had been building a following on TikTok through his creative videos and was increasingly gaining recognition online.
Fellow TikToker Leo previously revealed that Omollo had grown his following from about 1,000 to 100,000 followers in just four months, highlighting the rapid progress he had made in his content-creation career.
His death has left the JKUAT community and fellow content creators mourning, while police continue efforts to identify, trace and arrest the four men allegedly involved in the attack.
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