Motorist killed in spray of bullets on Thika road
A motorist died from multiple gunshot wounds after unknown people sprayed his car with bullets on Thika road on June 22, 2021.
What you need to know:
- The incident at Gwa-Kairu in Juja, Kiambu County, caused a huge traffic snarl-up as crowds gathered to check whether the man had survived the attack.
A motorist died from multiple gunshot wounds on Tuesday afternoon after unknown people in a speeding car sprayed his car with bullets as he drove on Thika road.
The man was blocked along the highway by two gunmen who first deflated one of the car's tyres by shooting at it. They then fired at him indiscriminately.
The incident at Gwa-Kairu in Juja, Kiambu County, caused a huge traffic snarl-up as crowds gathered to check whether the man had survived the attack.
It was said that the motorist, whose identity was not immediately established, was driving towards Thika.
The 3pm shooting left the car, a white Subaru Forester of registration number KDC 010H, with multiple bullet holes in the windscreen and right front window.
Detectives from Juja Police Station launched an investigation into the incident.
“We are yet to establish the identity of the driver but we have sent a team to Thika,” said Juja DCIO Richard Mwaura.
Juja divisional police commander (OCPD) Dorothy Migarusha told Nation on phone that after the incident, the motorist was rushed to Thika Level Five Hospital in critical condition.
A medic later confirmed that he died and said the body was taken to General Kago Funeral Home.
Regarding the investigation, Ms Migarusha said no arrests had been made.
The area where the shooting took place has no CCTV cameras
Past incidents
A similar incident occurred in June 2018 when a lone male motorist died after his car was sprayed with dozens of bullets near Vincentian Retreat Centre along Thika superhighway.
The man was shot inside his Mercedes Benz C200 by unknown persons who then sped off towards Nairobi.
At the time, multiple police sources said the victim had been trailed by his assailants for a while before he was accosted, sprayed with bullets and left to die.
Preliminary investigations indicated that heavy weapons were used but the motive was unclear.
In January 2016, Fredrick James Muchina Kariuki was shot six times at night, while driving out of Ruiru town towards the Eastern bypass.
Muchina, said to have been heading from Nyeri in a private car, was shot at close range.
He was later linked to a poaching incident in the Rift Valley in 2013, when the Kenya Wildlife Service suspended 32 officers for engaging in the crime.
In March that year, 37 pieces of ivory that were recovered in a house in Githurai, near Kimbo Primary School, were linked to the deceased.
“We found the funeral programme of the late Muchina in his house. We are investigating possible links to the slain tycoon who was involved in illegal ivory trade,” said the then DCI boss Ndegwa Muhoro.
