Nairobi News

A prison warder shot dead his colleague and injured another at Embu GK Prison on Sunday morning, in what colleagues think is rivalry over duty allocation.

Mr Mohamed Said Omar, 34, a Muslim cleric was gunned down as he went to the mosque for the morning prayers around 5am, while Mr Kennedy Muriithi Njagi, 28, was shot in the legs after witnessing the killing.

The suspected assailant, Mr Wario Fora Boru, then dropped his G3 riffle at the scene and fled to Itabua Police Station where he surrendered himself.

During the early morning incident that got the warders unawares, the suspect was on duty guarding the prison’s administration block together with Mr Murithi when he spotted Mr Omar heading to the mosque and shot him.

Multiple sources said the suspected assailant had in 2015 been relieved of clerical duties and Mr Omar placed in charge of the prison mosque at the correction facility.

BAD BLOOD

“There has been a deep-seated rivalry between the two after Boru was removed from his post. They are neighbours and were always having squabbles over the matter,” said a colleague.

Embu GK prison boss Charles Mutembei confirmed there was bad blood between the suspect and the deceased but said they didn’t think it would escalate to killing.

Mr Mutembei said the suspect could have shot at Mr Muriithi in an attempt to erase evidence as he was the only witness.

“We were shocked by this incident because even though the two had a disagreement that was two years ago and they have not shown any misunderstanding since then,” said Mr Mutembei.

At the scene, a long trail of blood was evident that Mr Muriithi could have dragged himself towards some bushes to escape from the hail of bullets.

INVESTIGATIONS

Mr Muriithi was first rushed to Embu Children Hospital-Tenri which is about one kilometer from the scene, before being referred to Kijabe Mission Hospital for further treatment.

Mr Mutembei said the deceased’s body was moved to Embu Level Five Hospital mortuary.

He added that police led by county police commander and DCIO had commenced investigations into the incident.

He said such an incident had not been witnessed at the facility for several years.

Another officer at the facility identified only as Mr Kibucha narrated how they were woken up by about four gun shots which momentarily died and resumed a few minutes later.

“I heard someone calling out for help. After ascertaining he was not armed I ventured there and found him bleeding profusely. We checked his gun and the bullets were intact. It seemed the shooting caught him by surprise,” said Mr Mutembei.