Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe arrested over fatal shooting of rider during Thika fracas

Detectives on Friday arrested Gatundu South Member of Parliament Gabriel Kagombe in Kileleshwa after a manhunt following the alleged fatal shooting of a bodaboda rider in Thika two weeks ago.

The MP, who had been in hiding for over a week, was located and taken to Kamukunji Police Station, where he will be locked up before his court arraignment on Monday.

Kagombe will remain in custody over the weekend. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution has approved murder charges against him in connection with the fatal shooting of 26-year-old David Nduati, who died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

During the incident, 46-year-old Anthony Kamau sustained serious injuries after a bullet lodged in his left arm. Area Assistant County Commissioner Philomena Nzioki was also injured but was treated and discharged from Avenue Hospital in Thika.

The alleged shooting occurred on May 17 when two rival camps clashed over the ownership of a proposed Sh50 million market in the Kiganjo area of Thika, Kiambu County. The clash was between supporters of area MP Alice Ng'ang'a and those of Kamenu MCA Peter Mburu.

The MCA had visited the contested market area with locals a day earlier to subdivide it into stalls ahead of construction, claiming Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi had allocated Sh50 million for the market.

The following day, MP Ng'ang'a, along with National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah, Kagombe, Gatundu North MP Elijah Njoroge, Ngoliba Ward MCA Joachim Njama, and Mwiki MCA, arrived with a bulldozer to "launch" the market, leading to a fierce confrontation between the two groups.

According to a police report, the confrontation escalated when Ng'ang'a's supporters began erecting a signpost at the market site. MCA's group started throwing stones, prompting the police to use teargas. During the melee, Kagombe allegedly shot towards the MCA's group.

"The MCA's group began pelting stones at the MP and her entourage. The MP's group retreated when the police began tackling the group with teargas. During the melee, Gatundu South MP shot indiscriminately towards the MCA's group," a police report on the incident notes in part.

Detectives recovered a spent cartridge from the scene, the bullet head from the deceased's body, and the bullet lodged in the second victim's arm for forensic analysis.

The area MCA accused MP Ng'ang'a of interfering in county projects, while Ng'ang'a claimed the market was a national government project.

After the incident, locals protested, demanding action against those responsible for the shooting. Governor Wamatangi also called for stern action against the shooters, asserting that the contested market was a county government project.

"For the record, the national government has not allocated any market to the Kiganjo area, the one in contention is being built by the County Government. Those that were allocated by the national government were to be built elsewhere in Kiandutu, Goliba and Gatuanyaga areas," the governor said later as he called for the arrest of Gatundu South MP.

Police have not yet disclosed whether Kagombe, who was seen in a viral video shooting in the air, had his firearm license reinstated after it was allegedly withdrawn following previous incidents.

Other MPs, including Elijah Njoroge (Gatundu North) and Alice Ng'ang'a (Thika Town), as well as their bodyguards and police officers who responded to the fracas, have been asked to surrender their firearms for ballistic tests.

Kagombe earlier claimed he was receiving treatment at the hospital for injuries sustained in the altercation.

"It is extremely sad that an elected governor can use an MCA to send goons to attack MPs on duty to bring development to the people of Kiambu. It is even worse that other residents and I were injured in the ensuing altercation," the MP tweeted while sharing a picture of himself in the hospital.