How JKUAT lecturer Laura Kwasira was killed at her Vegas Lounge pub in 16k brawl
The family of a University lecturer who succumbed to bullet wounds in a dramatic scuffle involving a police officer at an entertainment joint in Nakuru has commenced preparations for her burial.
Family members told Nairobi News Laura Kwasira, the owner of the Vegas Lounge pub in which she was shot at, will be laid to rest at her home in Khayega, Kakamega County.
Kwasira, a PhD student in Business Administration, died while undergoing treatment at the Nakuru Level 6 hospital.
The shocking incident that has stunned the nation.
Kwasira, a single mother of a two-year old and resided at London estate, in Nakuru.
She is also a lecturer at both Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and Mount Kenya University (MKU) in Nakuru, some 160km from Nairobi.
Those who know the deceased paint an image of a hustler lady who lectured at the two academic institutions during the day and retreated to her private gig at the Vegas Lounge pub and restaurant in the evening or whenever she had time.
A family member who spoke to Nairobi News explained that the incident which killed Kwasira and one of her employees, and left two bouncers fighting for their lives at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) occurred at about 2am on December 12, 2023, a public holiday in Kenya known as Jamhuri Day.
Trouble started when the policeman, who has been identified as Constable Nicholas Musau from Makueni County, was asked to pay his bill.
“The policeman came in and had drinks but then refused to pay the Sh16,000 bill given to him by a waiter,” a relative of the deceased explained.
“He became rowdy and confronted the waiter. The commotion attracted the attention of two bouncers (security detail) and my sister who was manning the counter. The bouncers advised the policeman to leave and come the following morning to sort out the (bill) issue. He refused.”
“He was visibly drunk. In a split second, he unleashed a firearm and shot around indiscriminately. The bullets shot the waiter and my sister. The bouncers were also injured and are at the ICU.”
“We are shocked. The government is yet to reach out but funeral arrangements have already commenced.”
Meanwhile, Musau was produced in court and police have been granted seven days to investigate the incident and prefer charges against him.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome have condemned the shooting.
Kindiki appeared to confirm the dispute over payment of the bill. He said: “If a police officer like the one in Nakuru takes a gun and goes into a club, drinks, refused to pay the bill and starts to kill people, we have no business with such officers.”
Koome assured the deceased and those injured that justice will be served.