Reason man arrested over killing of NHIF staff was released

A man who had been arrested by police in the probe into the fatal shooting of a female National Hospital Insurance Fund employee on Kaunda Street, Nairobi has been released.

The man who is a licensed gun holder got back his pistol with 15 bullets after ballistic tests on it came out negative.

The preliminary tests conducted on the pistol on Monday night February 20 suggested the gun was not involved in the shooting on February 13, 2023.

The tests compare recovered cartridges and bullet heads with the weapon believed to have been used.

The developments threw the detectives handling the case to the drawing back.

Director of DCI Mohamed Amin said they are optimistic to find the person who triggered the bullet that fell Lilian Waithera Gathenya, 46, as she walked home after day’s work.

Police say they believe the killer bullet was a stray one and it probably discharged accidentally.

The licensed firearm holder was Monday arrested over the incident after he was traced to his home in Kenol, Murang’a where he had been for lunch.

He denied shooting the killer bullet that hit Gathenya on February 13 as she walked home.

He told police he was in the CBD on that day and was carrying his pistol but he never fired.

Police suspect the person who fired, discharged the gun accidentally and the killer bullet came down hitting Gathenya in the collars borne before it lodged in the lungs.

“This could be a civilian holder or a police officer. We hope to get to the bottom of this soon,” said Amin.

The deceased’s friends and colleagues at NHIF visited the scene she died and held prayers there on Thursday, February 23.

She worked at the registry at the fund.

Initially, police and pedestrians had thought Gathenya, 46 collapsed and died out of natural causes but an autopsy done on the body realized a bullet lodged in her lungs.

The bullet had been fired from an elevated angle and went into the body through the collar borne before stopping in the lungs.

Blood was oozing from his mouth after she collapsed seeking help.

She told those who were walking with her that something had hit her.

The body was moved from Nairobi Hospital to Kenyatta University mortuary where the post-mortem was conducted by a group of pathologists who declared the case of death as shooting.

She had walked from her place of work in Upper Hill and was headed home when the incident happened.

Other witnesses said they had heard gunfire at that time but police said there were bloodstains at the scene.

Police have ruled out the work of an assassin as the cause of the incident.