Man killed in ‘drug deal’ gone wrong

Othaya OCPD Joseph Mwika addressing journalists in his office on March 2, 2017. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The man identified by police as Geoffrey Maina is said to have been headed to his home in Gathuthi when he was attacked at around 2am.
  • He had deep cuts on the shoulder and the neck and investigators suspect that he could have been attacked with a machete.
  • Detectives are working on mapping out his movements before the attack to try and identify the scene of the attack.

A 25-year-old man was on Saturday night hacked to death in Othaya Town, Nyeri County in a suspected drug deal gone wrong.

The man identified by police as Geoffrey Maina is said to have been headed to his home in Gathuthi when he was attacked at around 2am.

The exact scene of the attack has not been identified yet as the man is said to have walked into a popular entertainment joint in the town after the attack.

Nyeri South Divisional police commander Joseph Mwika told the Nation that workers of the club noticed that the man was bleeding from the neck after he sought entry into the joint.

“He went to the club but workers told him he could not enter at that time. They then noticed he was bleeding and decided to rush him to hospital but he died on the way,” said Mr Mwika.

SELLING BHANG

He had deep cuts on the shoulder and the neck and investigators suspect that he could have been attacked with a machete.

According to police the man had a record of selling bhang in the town which has raised suspicion that he could have been attacked by rival peddlers. The man is a well-known miraa seller in the town.

“We do not think it is a normal robbery based on his previous record in selling bhang. He could have been attacked by his rivals or it could have been a deal that went wrong,” said the Othaya police boss.

He however said that detectives are working on mapping out his movements before the attack to try and identify the scene of the attack.

“At the moment we are collecting witness accounts as we try to piece together where he had been to so that we can identify the crime scene. From that we will be able to collect more evidence to lead us to the attackers,” said the OCPD.

ROBBED MPESA

No suspects have been arrested in connection to the attack.

Earlier on the same night, armed robbers are reported to have stolen Sh133,000 from an Mpesa agent in Othaya town.

The gun wielding robbers are said to have stormed the Mpesa shop at around 7.30PM and made away with the money from the cash box.

The female shop attendant at the time told police the robbers pointed a gun at her and warned her against raising alarm.

The matter was reported at Othaya police station where police interrogated the attendant.

“The attendant has been questioned over the said robbery but we feel there might be foul play as nobody around the shop noticed the robbery. Also the amount in question is quite big and we also need to authenticate the money,” Othaya OCPD, Mr Mwika said.

The police boss said that they will crosscheck the records of transaction of the day and collect more information from the neighbouring shops over the incident.