The death of Kabete MP George Muchai this morning under a hail of bullets has not only raised insecurity profile in the city but, expectedly, added fuel to the theory of planned executions of promi nent individuals.
Already, political leaders have alleged that the MP’s death was an assassination given the way it was expertly executed early morning and daringly at the Kenyatta Avenue-Uhuru Highway roundabout in the heart of the city. It appears the killers were interested in only Muchai’s life, thus ruling out the normal Nairobi robbery theory.
This comes after the controversial death of Homa Bay Senator Otieno Kajwang and, later, the passing on of Fidel, the son of CORD leader and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Kajwang is said to have died from cardiac arrest, but a section of politicians believe his death was not natural, while Fidel was found dead in the morning in his house in Karen.
Lawmakers who arrived at the funeral home, said the Kabete MP was assassinated, and asked the government to carry out thorough investigations into the killing, saying it would be easy to get the murderers as the scene of the crime is under the surveillance of CCTV cameras.
Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi said Mr Muchai had been threatened several times and had reported the threats to the police. “The CCTV clips should be handed (over) to the detectives as soon as possible. There is no way the perpetrators will not be known,” he said.
Other legislators who went to the funeral home and supported the planned execution theory included Gatundu North MP Kigwa Njenga, Kipipiri MP Samuel Gichingi, Ruiru MP Esther Gathogo, Juve Njomo, MP for Kiambu, and Kiambu Women Representative Anne Gathechu.
Two of the MP’s bodyguards and a driver also died in the 4am attack, according to Nairobi Central Police OCPD Paul Wanjama. The four were in one vehicle ahead of another vehicle carrying family members, including the MP’s wife and a daughter. It is not clear where they were coming from Those in the second vehicle said the MP stopped at the roundabout to buy a newspaper when four people with big guns approached his car and started shooting.
“They just started spraying it with bullets,” one of the relatives told police. “When we saw that, our driver sped past the other car and when we came back to the scene a few minutes later, all the occupants of the vehicle were dead.”
A newspaper vendor who witnessed the shooting told the police that one of the gunmen who led the shooting wore a face mask. The bodies of the four had bullet wounds in the head and chest. Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko, speaking at the crime scene, asked the government to take the safety of lawmakers in the country seriously.
