Land dealer shot 15 times in Nairobi

Kenya: A land dealer who had been charged with defrauding a buyer of Sh95 million was killed by gunmen along Forest Road in Nairobi.

Paul Ngugi Kariuki was shot 15 times while in his Mercedes Benz as he drove home along Forest Road at midnight on Wednesday.

He died on arrival at Aga Khan Hospital. A woman he was with was injured in the chin and was also rushed to hospital, police said.

They were driving home to Waithaka from Garden estate when a car blocked their way near a petrol station and gunmen pumped bullets into their vehicle.

The attackers did not steal anything from their victims. The bullet-riddled car was towed to Parklands Police Station.

Police who arrived at the scene later said they discovered a number of documents including title deeds in the car.

"We do not know the motive of the shooting because the attackers escaped soon after their mission. Investigations are ongoing," said Gigiri CID boss Daniel Kandie.

Some officials speculated that the shooting could be linked to land deal(s) gone sour. Police said they were awaiting the injured woman to recuperate so that they can interrogate her

His friends said he had complained that he had differed with some of the people he dealt with in a deal after he was short-changed.

Kariuki was last December charged with conning a land buyer Sh95 million by falsely pretending that he was capable of selling a parcel of land.

The prosecution said Kariuki forged title deeds and purported to be the owner of the plot valued at Sh100 million in Nairobi's Kileleshwa.

He was accused of attempting to defraud the rightful owner of the plot, Mr Joseph Muthama Macharia, of his property, in a scheme said to have involved accomplices who were not arraigned before the court then.

He was released after depositing Sh3 million in cash bail.