Death on Kusi Lane: Goat's head warning precedes IT manager's murder in Parklands.
Forensic investigators from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have been called in to assist with the probe into the murder of Sagar Panara, the businessman shot dead as he drove to his house in Parklands on Tuesday September 24.
The forensic investigators will team up with officers from the Nairobi Area DCI to unmask the killers of Mr Panara.
Detectives are now hoping that CCTV footage, call data and statements by the family will unravel the killers of the businessman and their motive.
Detectives from the Gigiri DCI who have been handling the matter had asked the family to provide information on a land dispute over a prime parcel of land in Narok County.
On Saturday, an investigator familiar with the matter told Nation.Africa that detectives are following several leads, among them the possibility that Mr Panara was killed over the land wrangles as indicated in some of the leaflets found in his car after the shooting.
Another theory that the DCI is following is the possibility that Mr Panara could have been killed over a business deal gone bad, the source said.
It has since emerged that days before Mr Panara was shot dead by unknown gunmen, his family had been issued with death threats.
A severed goat head had been delivered to the office of another close family member at his office in Nairobi.
The threats were issued seven days before Mr Panara was shot dead on Tuesday night while getting home from a meeting at a city golf club. The shooting happened at around 9pm as Mr Panara was about to enter his home on Kusi Lane in Parklands.
Mr Panara was confirmed dead at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi where he was rushed for treatment after the shooting.
At the Aga Khan Hospital, doctors said Mr Panara had suffered a bullet wound on his side of the body just below the neck.
At the scene of the shooting, police recovered two spent cartridges.
A source close to the family said the family was embroiled in a land tussle with some individuals who have eyed some prime land in Narok owned by the Mr Panara family.
Mr Panara, 36, was shot dead on Tuesday night by gunmen on a motorbike at Nairobi’s Parklands estate. As they fled, the assailants then placed leaflets that had warnings printed on them next to his body.
Detectives from Gigiri DCI, who visited the scene, said the leaflets – some that had been placed on the dead man’s body – had a warning that pointed to some land wrangles in Narok.
“One Panara down,” the leaflets warned. “Vacate Narok land, one Panara down, and Narok land belongs to Maasai.”
On Saturday, DCI forensic investigators from the Nairobi Area and Gigiri revisited the scene of the shooting to search for clues into the murder.
The investigators surveyed the area for CCTV cameras that could offer insights into the murder.
An investigator familiar with the probe, but who shared details in confidence as he is not allowed to speak with the media, told Nation.Africa that the police were following several leads.
One of the theories that the DCI is pursuing is the possibility that Mr Panara could have been involved in a land dispute.
“We are speaking to the family to establish if there was any controversy as the leaflets suggest,” said the investigator.
Another theory that the police are looking into is the possibility that Mr Panara could have been killed by people known to him who used the leaflets to divert attention.
A search of the IT solution firm where Mr Panara worked states that he was a manager. Mr Panara has held the managerial position for the last 14 years, according to the details published on the company website.
