GSU Officer Arrested After Fatal Shooting of Woman in Eldoret

Arrest Following Fatal Shooting

A General Service Unit (GSU) officer was arrested on Sunday night in the Kaptinga area along the Kapsaret–Maili Tisa bypass, hours after he allegedly shot and killed a 45-year-old woman at the GSU Mess compound in Naiberi, Uasin Gishu County, police said. The officer, identified as PC Nathan Kirwa, was found with a Jericho pistol loaded with five rounds of 9mm ammunition at the time of his arrest, according to police. He also had an injury on his left forefinger, which investigators suspect may have been sustained during the shooting incident.

The shooting occurred on Sunday at about 5pm, according to a police report filed at Naiberi Police Station. Witnesses told the Star that the incident followed an altercation between the officer and the deceased woman, identified as Doris Murei Nandi. She was at the GSU Mess compound taking alcohol when she got into an argument with the officer, witnesses said. It is not clear what triggered the argument that turned fatal.

Scene and Investigation

Officers from Uasin Gishu County, including the County Police Commander, Ainabkoi Sub-County Police Commander, Sub-County Criminal Investigations Officer, and officers from the Scene of Crime Management Unit and Naiberi Police Station, visited the scene. Seven spent 9mm cartridges were recovered at the scene, alongside a Toyota Corolla 110, registration number KAR 371U, and a rifle holster, which police said were suspected to be associated with the suspect. The scene was processed before the woman's body was removed and taken to Eldoret Hospital mortuary, where it is being preserved pending a postmortem examination. The Star reported that the body was moved to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary in Eldoret for the same purpose.

The officer was attached to a local governor as a bodyguard, the Star reported. After his arrest, he was taken to Life Care Hospital, where he received treatment and was discharged in fair condition, then escorted to Naiberi Police Station, where he remained in custody as investigations continued. AllAfrica reported that a manhunt had been launched for Kirwa, who had fled the scene and remained at large as of Sunday evening, but the Star's account indicates he was taken into custody that same night.

County Police Commander Wilborforce Sicharani, who led the team that processed the scene, said they are investigating the fatal shooting. The case is being handled by the Ainabkoi Sub-County Criminal Investigations Office.