A University of Nairobi lecturer has been shot dead by a gang of robbers in his house in Machakos county.
Prof Stephen Nzuve, 66, was killed on Saturday in Katulu village, Matungulu district, Kangundo police boss Wycliffe Sifuna told the Star yesterday.
Nzuve’s wife told police the professor spent the day with some visitors in his home. After seeing them off at 6pm, he drove to Tala shopping centre to see a friend.
When he drove back home at around 7pm, five armed men confronted him at the gate and forced their way into his compound.
The gang ordered him out of his car and the three went with him into his house and demanded money, his ATM cards and PIN numbers.
They ordered him to sit in a sofa set and shot him in the stomach, Sifuna said.
The police boss said the gang locked the professor’s wife and the maid in his car and sped away.
The thugs are reported to have withdrawn Sh10,000 from Nzuve’s account at an Equity ATM in Tala on Saturday night.
Relatives who heard the commotion arrived after the gang had left. They rushed the professor to Kangundo Hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Sifuna urged the public to volunteer information to help investigations.
Nzuve’s CV on the UoN website indicates he has two sons and four daughters. He was the associate dean at the school of business.
Nzuve was a board member of the Centre for Self-Sponsored Programmes. He joined the university as a lecturer in 1981.
Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua sent a message of condolence to Nzuve’s family.
Through his press secretary Mutinda Mwanzia, he described Nzuve as a dedicated scholar and man who had “a big heart for his community and was development conscious”.
Mutua ordered security organs to hunt for the criminals behind the murder and ensure they are punished.
He said the Machakos government has provided patrol vehicles to police.
The governor urged police to intensify their night beats to deter criminals.
Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama and Deputy Governor Bernard Kiala condoled the family yesterday and demanded speedy investigations.
Muthama decried deteriorating insecurity, especially in Kangundo and Matungulu districts.
“We are demanding proper answers why there is a lot of insecurity,” he said. “Otherwise, we will ask all senior police officers to resign or be transferred.”