Nairobi News

News

Boda boda gang shoots, kills KDF soldier in Utawala


A Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldier was on Monday night shot and killed by a motorcycle gang in Utawala, Nairobi.

The soldier, who was on his way home, was accosted at around 8pm by a gang of three on a boda boda who demanded his backpack.

Police said a scuffle ensued before one of the attackers shot senior private Joseph Mwangi before grabbing his rucksack and rode off with his accomplices.

Guards at nearby houses heard the gunshot and rushed to the scene and rushed the 30-year-old soldier to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

According to police crime scene investigators, who were sent to the scene, no spent cartridge was recovered despite the single bullet entering and exiting his lower abdomen.

Police are still trying to establish what the backpack contained as they hunt down the gang.

The body was later moved to the mortuary to await a postmortem examination.

Police have advised the public not to resist orders from armed thugs whenever they are accosted, to ensure their safety.

Cases of armed robberies have been on the increase in Nairobi during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the attacks blamed on illegal guns in the hands of criminals.

In December, four men were arrested and charged in a Nairobi court after they allegedly brutally killed a KDF officer in Utawala following a brawl over a woman.

Read: KDF soldier killed by mob for greeting woman in Utawala