Police officer injured in Monday's bride shooting dies

By Cyrus Ombati

NAIROBI, KENYA: A police officer who sustained head injuries in the Monday bride shooting incident in Nairobi has died.

Police said constable Ayub Nyaoke died at 12.30am at the Kenyatta National Hospital where he was admitted following the 4 pm shooting incident at Corner House along Kaunda Street.

Ayub was in the company of his brother, Mr Newton and the bride to be Mrs Beatrice Adhiambo Nyaoke as they bought wedding rings ahead of the Saturday’s big event.

Their plans were however cut shot when three gunmen confronted them in the shop and ordered them to raise their hands before shooting the bride and her in-law.

The bride died on the spot while Ayub was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital where he was taken straight to theatre with a bullet lodged in his head.

Central OCPD Patrick Oduma said they had been informed of the death on Tuesday morning.

Newton and his bride Beatrice had planned to wed at St Christopher Anglican Church of Kenya in Mathare North, Nairobi, on Saturday.

Ayub was based in Transmara County and was on leave to attend the wedding when he met the death.

Newton, 40, who works as a security officer at KK Security in Nairobi, said they were accosted by the three gunmen as they were shopping for wedding rings.

“We had entered the shop and identified a ring worth Sh5,000 when the gangsters entered the shop and ordered us to kneel down and raise our hands,” said an emotional Newton.

He added despite them heeding the orders, one of the gunmen opened fire at close range killing his wife on the spot and seriously wounded Ayub in the head.

The gang later walked out of the shop without stealing anything from the shop and the victims.

Oduma said the gang seems to have planned to kill the woman and that a hunt on the killers had been launched.

“We think this is murder because the gang did not steal anything from the victims. They shot her and her brother in law before escaping,” said Oduma.

Newton fought back tears as a crowd surged at the scene eager to have a glimpse of the shooting.

The deceased’s relatives who arrived there wept uncontrollably on seeing a pool of blood that had caked around the woman’s body.

The couple had four children — two boys and two girls aged between 10 and one-and-a half years.

Newton who has been married for 13 years, said his wife was a businesswoman selling clothes at Nairobi’s Huruma Estate.

Oduma said a team of detectives has been set up to pursue the case and that no arrest has been made so far.