NEWS
Man shot on both legs in botched Eastleigh robbery
By: Abdikadir Okash
NAIROBI—A shopkeeper was shot at on both legs in Eastleigh, Nairobi on Sunday morning after armed robbers attacked his shop in a botched daytime robbery.
The attack happened at 7:21 a.m opposite Al Hamdu Lodge. According to the watchman of the lodge, the robbers waited for the shopkeeper, Ugas Ubeid to open the shop before they staged the robbery.
A CCTV image reveals one of the attckers in action. He was identified by the local police as a wanted criminal who hails from Mathare area of Nairobi. Courtesy/ FACEBOOK
He adds that the attackers were two and were riding on a motorcycle.
“They were packed fifty meters away. They maintained their position for more than an hour and moved closer when they saw the shopkeeper approaching,” Adan Sheikh Salat told Wajir Times.
He continued, “As he opened the doors, they stormed in and violently pushed Ugas into the shop. One of the robbers then stood at the door to wade away first responders.”
The shopkeeper, the watchmen tell us, was shot on both legs and was rushed to hospital.
“They escaped on a bodaboda. They failed to rob him. They only made away with the Mpesa phone and his personal one,” the watchmen stated.
An amateur photo surfaced on the internet showing blood flowing out of the shop.
By noon, his wife was at the retail shop which also serves as an Mpesa outlet. Business was as usual, save for few relative and friends who milled around as they came to terms with what befell on their loved one.
We visited Madina hospital where he was admitted along the 9th Street in Eastleigh. The hospital administrator told us that a surgeon was called from Kibaje Hospital. An X-ray picture revealed that he was shot on the thigh and just below the knee and both bullets were lodged in his body. The surgeon arrives at 3:30 pm to start the four-hour operations.
Detectives from the Shauri Moyo Police Station were taking statement at the time of our arrival. One of the detectives said the robbers was apprehended from the CCTV footages.
“He is a well-known character within the Kamukunji security circles. He hails from Mathare area. We were investigating him, but this now is an exhibit,” he said.
The Sunday attack was not an isolated case in that street. Just over a month ago, a woman was robbed in a similar fashion as she opened her shop for the day.
—Additional report by Ahmed Abdirashi and Abdiaziz Roble
