Nairobi man shot dead, robbed of Bible in night attack

NAIROBI, KENYA: A middle-aged man was on Saturday night shot dead by thugs in Nairobi's Kibera slums.

The man is said to have been walking from a church meeting at about 10pm with a woman friend when a gang on a motorbike ambushed them.

Police say the criminals first grabbed a bag from the man's hand but he held on even after being warned to surrender it. The bag contained a Bible.

"In the struggle, the gang was angered and shot him first in the leg and then in the chest, killing him on the spot," said Nairobi deputy police boss Moses Ombati.

The gang escaped with the bag but dropped it few metres ahead after realising it had no valuables.

Mr Ombati said police were investigating the crime to establish whether there was any other motive behind the shooting.

Officers arrived at the scene moments later and took the body to the mortuary. Cases of armed robberies are on the rise in the city, with few or no arrests being made.

Last Wednesday, a gardener and a dog were killed in an attempted violent robbery on a home in Thome, Nairobi.