A suspect believed to be behind the murder of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) staffer Lilian Waithera was nabbed on Monday, February 20.
The suspect was arrested by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) who pinned him to the building where the shot that ended Waithera’s life was fired from.
Officers intimated that the man under police custody is a licensed firearm holder.
A firearm believed to have been used in the suspected assassination in Nairobi’s central business district (CBD) was equally recovered by the detectives.
The suspect was ferried to the DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road where he was grilled by a team of detectives handling the case.
Officers from the agency also conducted a ballistic examination of the firearm to determine whether it matched the bullet recovered from Waithera’s body.
Detectives are also seeking to determine the motive for the death with police officers initially ruling out an assassination claim.
Waithera collapsed while walking along Kaunda Street in the company of her colleague shortly after complaining of chest pains.
An autopsy conducted on her body on February 15 indicated that she suffered a gunshot wound on her right lung with the bullet entry point established to be on her right shoulder.
CCTV footage revealed that she was walking on the street before she staggered, holding onto her right shoulder. Her friend then helped her to the sidewalk and tried to administer first aid.
No commotion was witnessed until her friend frantically called for help indicating that the gunshot blast was not heard.
An ambulance was called to the scene and she was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
On February 18, detectives revealed that the shot was fired from the Jubilee Insurance Centre. Officers obtained records of all those who went in and out of the building on the said date.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE