Police: We have gun that was used to kill Jacob Juma

Ballistic examination of two empty cartridges recovered from a scene where businessman Jacob Juma was murdered match with a gun found on four suspects who were killed over the weekend.

Police say they found the AK47 rifle on four suspects killed near Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi on Saturday night. A pistol was also recovered during the incident.

Inspector General of police Joseph Boinnet says the new development could therefore lead to the arrest of the murderers.

“The areas covered in investigations include ballistic examination of two spent cartridges recovered from the scene which show it was from an AK47. Examination of two similar weapons recovered during recent encounters with criminals indicates one of them could be the murder weapon. This could therefore lead to the arrest of the murderers of the late Jacob Juma,” said Boinnet.

He said investigations have also covered the exploitation of phone records that is complete and valuable data analyses extracted. The officers handling the case have so far recorded statements from 28 people including Juma’s widow.

Ms Miriam Wanjiru, the widow surrendered to police the pistol that had been licensed to Juma indicating he did not have the weapon at the time of the killing on May 5 along Ngong Road.

The officers have also recorded statements from the owner and driver of a breakdown vehicle that was used to tow Juma’s car from the scene of murder to the police station.

Karen police station officers who were the first to arrive at the scene have also been questioned. A woman said to be a girlfriend of the deceased received Sh30, 000 from Juma on the day of his death and she told police she was to meet him that evening at his apartment in Westlands but he switched off his phone and instead met another lady.

Lawyer Ahmedinasir Abdulahi has also recorded statement with police over the incident because he was among the people he met on the fateful day.

According to police, another girlfriend who works with a well-known courier firm whom Juma sent Sh60, 000 to buy a mobile phone has also been questioned alongside the house help at the apartment where he had been. Juma had sent the house help Sh9, 500 the day before his death.

The AK47 rifle and pistol with 60 bullets were found on the men who had been linked to a series of robberies and kidnapping incidents in the city.

The investigators used the IC3 Command Centre at Jogoo House where they viewed shots taken through the Automated Number Plate Recognition cameras and video clips from the intelligent video surveillance cameras to trace his movements.

Police report however differ with records at the apartment which show Juma left there at 7.45 pm.

“At 19.36hrs, the deceased is captured along Waiyaki Way near Villa Rosa Nairobi driving towards Uhuru Highway. At 19.38 he is captured at Kenyatta/Uhuru Highway near ministry of tourism driving along Uhuru Highway towards Mombasa Road.”

“At 19.53 he is captured along Uhuru Highway near Central Park, along Uhuru Highway towards Waiyaki Way, at 19.55 he is captured at Nyerere Road near Children’s Traffic Park along Uhuru Highway towards Kenyatta Avenue.”

By then he had dropped the woman outside Tratoria Restaurant along Wabera Street.

At 20.14 hours, Juma’s car was captured along Argwings Kodhek Road near Yaya Center and later towards Ole Dume Road and that was the final place he could be traced, almost an hour before his body was discovered.

Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro said his team is still pursuing various angles including old cases which Juma was involved in as possible motive of the death.

“Every theory is valid until it is knocked out by evidence,” he said.

The team has since towed the Mercedes Benz that Juma was driving at the time of his death to DCI headquarters for analysis.

The body of Juma was found in his car after he had been killed by unknown gunmen. He had gun wounds in the chest and neck which indicated he was shot at close range. Two of the bullets were directed at the chest and five in the neck, a postmortem report showed. He also had a badly injured right hand.

Juma’s two mobile phones, golden Rolex watch and Sh6, 500 were among the personal effects found in the car after the shooting, police said.