GSU officer speared to death at State House gate buried in Kajiado

Relatives and friends during the burial of General Service Unit Police Constable Ramadhan Khamisi Matanka in Kajiado/HANDOUT

General Service Unit Police Constable Ramadhan Khamisi Matanka has been laid to rest at his home in Kajiado in line with the full Islamic rites.

Constable Matanka was fatally speared with an arrow by a suspect, identified as Kithuka Kimunyi, 56, on Monday morning while manning the entrance to State House along Dennis Pritt Road.

The incident occurred at around 8:15 am as officers from the GSU were conducting routine security checks on vehicles entering the premises, the police report said.

He was buried and given a full police gun salute.

According to the police report filed, the attacker suddenly drew a bow and shot the officer, striking him in the left side of the chest.

The officer sustained critical injuries and was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital, where he succumbed while undergoing emergency treatment.

The suspect was quickly subdued and arrested by other officers at the scene. He is currently being held in police custody as investigations continue into his motive and identity.

The suspect claimed to have been sent by Satan to attack the officer.

“This man claims he was sent by Satan to attack the police officer. He killed him, and he is lucky to be alive himself,” said an officer aware of the developments.

Witnesses said the suspect walked to the scene posing as a member of the street families and carrying a sack. He had stuffed the spear in the sack.

He then hid behind a flower bed and removed it before spearing the slain officer in the chest, witnesses said. By then, the officer and two others were busy checking and clearing a car that was getting into the State House.

Senior police officers led by Kilimani police boss Patricia Yegon and her DCI counterpart Hussein Mahat visited the scene and the hospital where the body lay. They said the suspect is under probe for more on the motive.

Other officials from State House were also present at the hospital. The incident came hours after another GSU officer was strangled and drowned near Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after an altercation with a man.

The State House and state lodges are guarded by the officers drawn from GSU’s G-Company.

Kimunyi was on Tuesday arraigned before the Kibera Law Courts.

The suspect, dressed in a white hoodie and brown trousers, appeared frail and was visibly limping as he was escorted to the courtroom.

One of his legs was bare, lacking both a shoe and a sock, while he leaned heavily on the other for support.

He was escorted from a waiting vehicle by two security agents, who aided him as he struggled to walk across the courtroom.