Puzzle of man gunned down on Thika Super Highway

The bullet-riddled car belonging to a businessman killed on Thika Super Highway on Tuesday night. [Kamau Maichuhie, Standard]

Mystery surrounds the killing of a motorist on the Thika-Nairobi highway on Tuesday night.

The man, whose identity police are yet to reveal, was gunned down by unknown assailants near the Vincentian Retreat Prayer Centre near Thika town.

The man was riding alone in his white Mercedes Benz when his vehicle was sprayed with bullets. He was later found dead in the car.

Police reports indicate that the man was waylaid by another vehicle at around 10pm, as he headed towards Nairobi.

The assailants are said to have shot at the vehicle multiple times before speeding off in their car towards Nairobi. Nothing was stolen from the man.

Speaking in Thika yesterday, Central Regional Commissioner Wilson Njega said authorities had identified the man, but declined to disclose his name.

Njega, however, said the man from Nyeri County lived with his family in Kasarani, Nairobi.

He said police had not established where he was coming from, where he was headed, or circumstances surrounding his death.

The administrator said preliminary investigation indicated that several firearms were used to eliminate the man. “We are yet to establish the motive behind the killing. It is, however, clear that several normal firearms were used in the attack. Cartridges collected show AK-47 and a pistol may have been used in the attack,” said Mr Njega.

He said the Government would soon conduct a crackdown in Kiambu and Murang'a counties to nab fire-arms in the hands of criminals.

Thika Officer Commanding Police Division Willy Simba said the man was a businessman from Roysambu in Nairobi County.

A senior officer, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the man was a police informer based in Nairobi. Police said no arrest had been made in connection with the killing. It was not clear if his family had been notified of his death.