Police pursue ‘robbers’ who killed woman, daughter-in-law in Katani
Zadock Angira and Christine Musa
A 60-year-old woman and her 35-year-old daughter-in-law were on Saturday shot dead by unknown assailants at their Katani home in Mlolongo, Machakos county.
Fredrick Mwangi, a son and husband, respectively of the two women, was also shot in the leg.
According to reports, Ann Katita was opening the gate for her son Mwangi, who was arriving home from work in the company of his wife Purity Wanjiru, when two men riding on a motorbike attacked them. Both Katita and Wanjiru were shot through the head.
Murder motive
Athi River sub-county commander Samuel Mukuusi said the assailants also took away cash and ATM cards.
He said preliminary investigations suggest that the motive was not an ordinary robbery but aim of committing murder.
“We highly suspect that the motive of the attack was to kill. The attackers might have assumed they had shot dead the three as Mwangi was shot while lying on the ground pleading with the attackers,” he said.
He said Katita and Wanjiru died on the spot adding that the weapon was likely an AK-47 rifle.
Mwangi was rushed to Shalom Hospital. Katani Cosmopolitan Resident Association chairman Jimmy Ngulu yesterday told People Daily said the attack was baffling.
“The attackers appear to have been out to kill since the victims didn’t resist,” he said adding that another resident was killed a fortnight ago in the same area.
A joint team from the Nairobi Special Crime Prevention Unit (SCPU), Machakos DCI and Athi River police have since launched an operation to track the killers.
The attack comes just hours after police shot dead three suspects and recovered two pistols in Thome, Kasarani. Detectives from the SCPU, intercepted a blue Toyota Fielder and a shootout ensued during which the three were shot dead while the fourth suspect escaped on foot.
A Smith and Wesson pistol with six rounds of ammunition and an Ekol pistol, also loaded with three rounds of ammunition were recovered.
Police found identification documents on the deceased persons bearing the names Daniel Muchiri Kiura 37, George Mugo Karanja 31, and Polly Kananu Mugo.
