Pressure is mounting on police to arrest perpetrators of the Kiganjo village skirmishes in Thika, Kiambu county, that left a boda boda operator dead with scores of others, including government officers, suffering multiple injuries.
David Nduati, 26, died after he was shot when supporters of MP Alice Ng’ang’a and those of Kamenu MCA Peter Mburu clashed.
During the last Friday chaos, Mburu was supervising the allocation of stalls in a market he had launched the previous day when MP Ng’ang’a and her counterparts Kimani Ichung’wah (Kikuyu), Gabriel Kagombe (Gatundu South), Elijah Njoroge (Gatundu North) and their supporters trooped to the site to launch the same project.
Police sources indicated that violence broke out when Mburu's supporters started pelting the MPs and their supporters with stones.
“The actual confrontation started when MP Ng’ang’a and her supporters began erecting a signpost indicating the market area where the MCA's supporters were already doing preliminary structures. The MCA's group began pelting the MP's and her entourage with stones. The MP’s group retreated as police were tackling the rival group with tear gas,” a police source said.
In the ensuing melee, Nduati lost his life while others, among them MPs Kagombe and Ng’ang’a, escaped with unspecified injuries before they were driven to safety.
MP Ng’ang’a’s bodyguard and area assistant county commissioner Philomena Nzioki were among those who suffered multiple injuries and were hospitalised.
On Monday, boda boda operators within Thika marched to Thika police station demanding justice for Nduati whom they claimed was a peaceful man.
The operators led by John Gichane stated that while they want development in the constituency, it should be delivered in peace.
“I am hurt that Nduati had to die a painful death. We want justice for him and we urge police to intensify investigations to ensure those behind his death are brought to book,” Gichane said.
They vowed not to bury him until the perpetrators of the crime are brought to book.
Central Kenya DCI boss Bethuel Oburu called for patience as investigators undertake a thorough probe to ascertain how the fight happened.
Already, several individuals he did not name have recorded statements and more are expected to document what they witnessed.
Oburu told journalists that a team of homicide and DCI experts had been dispatched from Nairobi and his Central office to try and piece together the required information before they conduct arrests.
The investigations, he noted, had taken the right direction and the matter will soon be accelerated. He urged resident to uphold peace and allow detectives to do their work.
“A team of homicide and DCI experts have been deployed from Nairobi and the Central region office to undertake thorough investigations into the regrettable incident. Every Kenyan has a responsibility to keep the peace during public gatherings and political meetings,” he said.
An autopsy report of Nduati who was shot during the fight yesterday showed that he had a single gunshot wound.
According to the report, Nduati died of excessive bleeding from the gunshot wound in his chest.
The autopsy conducted by pathologists John Mathaiya and another representing the family revealed that the rider was shot from the back.
His family led by Harrison Ndirangu and John Gitonga expressed satisfaction with the report but urged the government to determine who was responsible the killing.
“We are also calling on well-wishers to support us in conducting the burial plans as we come from an impoverished background and do not have the financial capacity to conduct the burial,” Ndirangu said.
