Boda boda operator shot dead as thugs kidnap colleague, steal bike

Nyeri, Kenya: Kiambururu village in Githunguri sub-county was plunged into mourning yesterday after a boda boda rider was shot dead by armed thugs.

The rider was allegedly killed as he and fellow boda boda operators tried to rescue an abducted a colleague.

The midday incident happened after boda boda operators who operate at Kiambururu terminus were alerted by their colleagues in another terminus that a fellow rider had been abducted. The thugs had also allegedly stolen a motorcycle.

"I got a call from my colleague that some armed men had hijacked a fellow boda boda rider and had bundled him into a Toyota saloon car that was headed our way," said Samuel Njenga, a boda boda operator.

Njenga said upon receiving he information, they barricaded the road and waited for the vehicle.

When the vehicle arrived at the scene, the other boda boda riders are said to have scampered for safety, but 34-year-old John Ndungu tried to smash the vehicle's windscreen, but was shot dead by the gangsters in the process.

An eye witness, Charles Wachira, who is also a boda boda operator, said the car was carrying four gangsters and that the fate of their abducted colleague was still unknown.

Area member of the county assembly Karungo Thangwa, who was accompanied by his Karura ward counterpart Kamau Thuo, condemned the killing, and called for beefing up of security in the region.

Meanwhile, a nine-year-old girl is nursing serious injuries at Nyeri County Refferal Hospital after she was attacked by an unidentified person at Kiamwathi village.

Swollen face

According to Lucy Njeri, her grandmother, the girl was attacked by a young man on her way home from school on Monday afternoon.

Ms Njeri said the girl stumbled home at around 4:45pm, with her school uniform stained with blood and her face was swollen.

"She said the man tried to strangle her and also took off with her undergarments," Ms Njeri explained.

Joseph Gitonga, who is one of the neighbours, said this was the the third time a child was being attacked by an unknown person in the area in the last three months.

"We are at a loss on who could be attacking the children," Gitonga said.

Nyeri OCPD Charles Rotich said he was not aware of the attacks, and asked the residents to report the matter to the police station as soon as possible.

"We cannot help the family and the child unless they report the incident to the police," said Rotich.

Elsewhere, residents of Kimende shopping centre along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway have urged the Government to erect bumps or construct a footbridge in the area to curb rampant cases of pedestrians being hit by speeding motorists.

This was after a young man, Simon Kimani, was killed on Sunday evening by a speeding motorists while crossing the road. After the incident, the locals elected three bumps near the shopping centre.

"We will continue to erect temporally bumps here until the Government heeds our call to erect permanent bumps or at put up a footbridge. So many people have died here while other have lost their legs and hands," said Robert Kimani a resident.

Area Mp Mburu Kahangara said the market was among several others in the area that needed footbridges and bumps in the area.

"This is a highway, which is always busy and I urge motorists to drive carefully. I have already written to the Transport Cabinet Secretary to build footbridges footpaths in Kimende, Rukuma and Soko Mjinga," said Kahangara.

The area also experiences mist especially in the morning and evening, further hampering visibility.