The Kenyan police have arrested a suspect, Julius Kimani Mwangi, in connection to the mysterious shooting and killing of a 46-year-old National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) staffer, Lilian Waithera.
The incident took place on Kaunda Street in Nairobi, where Waithera collapsed and died from a gunshot wound.
A post-mortem revealed that the bullet entered her body through her collar bone, and was fired from an elevated angle, leading to police to suspect someone in a high-rise building.
Police are currently investigating whether the death was a targeted execution or the result of a stray bullet.
Mwangi, who is a licensed firearm holder, denies firing the fatal shot and has claimed that he left his rifle in his car before running errands in the area.
Mwangi was tracked down by police detectives to his home in Kenol, Murang’a County, and taken into custody on Monday, February 20th.
He has surrendered his firearm to the police for ballistic examination to determine if it was used to kill Waithera.
Although he admits to being in the area when the incident occurred. Mwangi, a licensed firearm holder, has confirmed that he was carrying his rifle on the fateful day, but he claims to have left it in his car before running some errands.
He also denied going up any building around 5:00 pm around Kaunda Street in the Central Business District (CBD).
Mwangi was arrested by detectives on Monday, February 20, around 2:00 pm and was grilled at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters along Kiambu Road.
Officers traced him to his home in Kenol, Murang’a County, where he had reportedly stayed for the entire week after the incident was reported.
He has since surrendered his firearm to the police for ballistic examination to determine whether his bullet was used to kill Waithera. As investigations continue, police are pursuing every possible lead to establish the motive behind the killing.
