A businessman was on Sunday killed by bandits in Kitui county.
Kitonga Musembi was murdered at the Muthumulani junction that falls on the Engamba-Twambui Road of Endau location in Kitui East.
His murder comes only two days after CS Fred Matiang'i and police boss Hillary Mutyambai's visit to the area to assure the residents of their security.
Reacting to the murder, assistant chief Elijah Kisilu said on the phone that Musembi was ambushed by the gunmen at the Muthumulani junction where he was driven by his driver.
“The man was hit on the head and died on the spot. However, his driver escaped the gunfire assault, stopped the vehicle and fled into the bush under a hail of bullets. He was not hurt,” Kisilu said.
He said the businessman’s body was later collected by police and taken to the Mutitu Level 4 Hospital morgue.
Governor Charity Ngilu issued a statement condemning the murder.
"I call on the national and local security units to move with speed to investigate the matter and expeditiously bring the perpetrators to book," Ngilu said through a press statement circulated to media houses on Sunday.
"Let us all remember that this is not a tribal issue. It is a bandit attack and we need to honestly call it what it is and find an appropriate solution without trying to whip up uncalled for tribal emotions."
The incident happened only hours after a section of Kamba leaders asked the government to urgently intervene so as to resolve the conflict between the warring communities in the county.
Led by former Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama, the leaders’ majority drawn from the Wiper party said the government should find a long-lasting solution to the conflicts.
They included sitting and former legislators, MCAs, among other local leaders.
“We have not had security chiefs going to Kitui the way they go to other areas. Police IG Mutyambai, DCI director George Kinoti, DPP Noordin Hajji and Matiang'ishould visit the area the way they always go to Turkana, West Pokot, Baringo, among other areas across the country whenever there are security issues,” Muthama said.
They spoke during the third anniversary of Kewi chairperson Wavinya Ndeti's late husband Prince Henry Oduwole at her rural home in Kinanie, Machakos county on Saturday.
Muthama said the war between the Kamba and Somali communities in Kitui had made locals’ lives difficult. At the centre of the conflict are water and grazing pasture.
He said members of the Kamba community had suffered after they were two weeks ago attacked by bandits in their own homes making some of them flee for fear of their lives.
The former legislator noted that the conflict was not about boundary issues.
“We will not accept this to happen, security must be restored in Kitui once and for all.”
He said the residents will protect themselves if the government fails to do so.
Two weeks ago, hundreds of families were reported to have fled their homes and camped at police stations in Kitui East after armed herders invaded their homes killing two people and injuring others.
Police IG Mutyembai, DPP Hajji and DCI Kinoti on Friday toured Kitui on what they termed a fact-finding mission on security issues.
According to the trio, the mission established that no permanent residence was destroyed nor camel killed at Enyali subcounty contrary to claims going round on social media.
They, however, established that following an inter-county security meeting, herders who had illegally invaded Kitui were asked to leave after adequate notice to calm rising tension between two communities.
The mission further established that there was no inter-community animosity or conflict, no camel had been shot or killed and that the two communities co-exist peacefully.
They directed that investigation be carried out to establish if there were people who may have incited the two communities against each other.
Edited by R.Wamochie
