Man killed by motorcycle gang was planning to pay dowry
Peter Gakio Karanja holds a photo of his younger brother, John Wanderi, at their family home in Rwamburi, Ndeiya ward on November 16, 2022.
Today, John Wanderi Karanja would have been a happy man. It was the day he was to pay his wife's dowry in Nyahururu and become a respected member of society. But it was not to be. Instead, his family is planning his funeral.
He was shot dead at his shop in Makutano shopping centre in Ndeiya on Tuesday, just two days from this important cultural ceremony. He paid the ultimate price as his assailants made away with the dowry payment. The amount, his family estimates, would have been close to Sh300,000 since it was inclusive of the money he paid to his weekly suppliers.
Tuesday was a typical day for the 34-year-old who ran a shop barely four kilometres from his home. However, the dowry plans had seen him alter his routine. Instead of opening his shop in the morning, he decided to go to Limuru town first to withdraw the money he would need.
Everything had gone according to plan. After withdrawing the cash, he stashed the wads of notes in an envelope and hid it in the pocket. To further conceal the bulge, he put on his work dust coat, then boarded a matatu back to his shop.
Gunshot
He alighted a hundred metres to his business and greeted his elder brother, Peter Gaiko, who was seated in his car planning to head to Thika. They exchanged pleasantries and Mr Karanja went on his way.
Moments later, Mr Gaiko, who had not yet started his journey, heard a gunshot followed by a piercing scream coming from the direction of his sibling's shop.
Alarmed, he quickly drove there to find out what had caused the disturbance. Even before he could take the final turn to the shop, he met residents running towards him.
"Turn your car round! your brother has been shot and you must rush him to hospital!" someone shouted.
It is then that it dawned on him that his brother was the one who had stopped the bullet.
His heart sank, but he hurried to get his brother into the car, assisted by several local residents. He quickly drove to Ndeiya Health Centre.
"He was still gasping for air when we got to the hospital. The doctors quickly put him on the oxygen machine and inserted the IV tube to try to counter the massive fluid loss. Unfortunately, it did not work and he died," Mr Gaiko said.
He later learned from witness accounts that Mr Karanja was accosted by two men riding on a motorbike. One wielded a gun. They waited for him to open the first set of locks at the foot of the door and as he stood up to open the other padlock, the two pulled him by the collar of his dust coat. A brief scuffle ensued and a gunshot rang out.
Internal bleeding
The hospital report later showed that the bullet had passed through his back and exited on the left side of his chest. He died due to massive internal bleeding.
A woman who worked in his shop screamed when she realised he had been shot. The killers seemed to have information that he was carrying money. They went straight to the right pocket, then jumped onto their motorcycle and raced off.
A third person, a man believed to have alighted from the matatu Mr Karanja had used and had been seen walking behind him, also jumped onto the speeding motorcycle, joining the other two to make their getaway.
At his home in Ndeiya Rwamburi, forlorn-looking neighbours sat around the homestead. Some were sniffling, others crying openly, eyes red. They are yet to come to terms with the terrible tragedy.
His elderly father, Karanja Gaiko, is a broken man. With tears in his eyes, he slowly breathes in and out, taking each breath with caution. He sits perfectly still, watching the goings-on in his son's compound.
"My son was a humble man. Very polite and quiet. He kept much to himself. The family had completed all the processes needed for the dowry payment tomorrow. It is very sad," he said.
James Mwaura, Assistant Chief of Ndeiya sublocation, said it was the first shooting in the area.
"We have had some cases of insecurity here and there, but we have never had one where one was shot and his money stolen," he said.
Peter Wanjohi, a resident, told the Nation that the rare incident pointed to a disturbing reality, that crime, which has been on the rise in the country, had finally found its way to their rather quiet neighbourhood.
"It is also puzzling that on the day he withdrew such a large amount is the same day he was murdered and his money stolen. Could these thieves have known this? If they did, who told them? John was a very quiet and secretive man," he said.
The deceased's family has the same burning questions. None of them knew that he was going to withdraw money on that day. They only knew known that he would get the money for the dowry payment by Thursday. He was not even in the final dowry committee where the details of the function were discussed.
"Who could have known yet we, his family, were not even aware of his intentions? We suspect someone, probably from the bank or one of his suppliers, set him up," he said.
Burial plans for Mr Karanja, who has left a wife and two children aged three and one, started yesterday. The dowry ceremony has been cancelled.
