Priest shot dead and money stolen by unknown assailants in Kiambu

A Catholic Church priest was shot dead by unknown assailants as he was taking money to the bank.

According to police reports, Fr John Njoroge, the parish priest of Kinoo Catholic Parish, was waylaid by criminals on a boda boda who shot him before stealing from him.

The police reports indicate two of the four were armed with pistols. One of them is said to have shot Fr Njoroge on the chest before taking the money from his car.

The 56-year-old priest is said to have been heading to deposit Sunday’s collection in a bank in Kikuyu town. The money was estimated to be Sh110,000.

Good Samaritans rushed the priest Kikuyu PCEA Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

A man identified as Fredrick Mutuma,36, accompanied the priest but was not hurt. However, his mobile phone was stolen.

Witness James Waweru said after waylaying and shooting the priest, the thugs got in the car and removed a bag and a mobile phone before fleeing.

Waweru, a mason in a nearby construction site, said they heard gunshots and rushed to ckeck. They found the priest in a pool of blood in the vehicle.

Kariuki Njoka, another witness, said he was driving on the road when he heard gunshots and later saw two motorcycles running away.

"They were moving at a very high speed. When they passed, I saw people running towards a car that had stalled in the middle of the road. We realised it was the priest who had been shot. We removed his body from the vehicle and rushed him to the hospital," he said.

Kiambu county police commander Andiel Nyange said the four-man gang obstructed the priest at the rough road and forced him to pull over.

They demanded the bag in his car as some of them brandished pistols.

Nyange said investigations are underway.

The police chief urged churches, residents and business operators to seek police escort when taking money to the bank.

“We will intensity patrols of both regular and administration police and the officers during this festive season,” he said.