The son of a political activist is nursing serious gunshot injuries inflicted when armed robbers broke into their house in Mathare, Nairobi County.
The attack came after the son’s mother shared on social media a photo of herself with Deputy President William Ruto at his Karen residence.
Investigations have since been launched to identify the attackers amid reports that they falsely hoped that the woman, Rodah Ingashani, had left Ruto’s home with a lot of money.
Just two days before the attack, Ingashani shared on her Facebook page the photo with Ruto which attracted a lot of views and comments.
Three hooded attackers, all in heavy jackets and wearing masks, raided her house where they shot her son, robbed the family of Sh18,000 and electronic gadgets and phones valued at Sh85,000.
On Friday, October 9, Ingashani reported to Pangani Police Station that three robbers armed with pistols broke into her house on the fifth floor at around 12:30 am and ordered everyone to surrender.
“I heard a sound but never imagined it was a gunshot. I woke up only to be confronted by a hooded man next to our bed. I then heard a voice from the living room warning us not to raise any alarm,” she said.
The robbers had broken the wooden door and her son, Kevin Ambutsi, 17, confronted one of them who then shot him in the stomach.
“As they were leaving I shouted and my son told me not to shout as they had shot him on the stomach,” she said.
Ingashani said that few days earlier she was part of the delegation that went to the residence of Deputy President William Ruto.
“I suspect the robbers thought we had a lot of money as they insisted that we give them more,” she said.
Ingashani works at the office of the Mlango Kubwa MCA and says she had escorted six people from the Ward to the DP Ruto’s residence.
“We were eight people from Mlango Kubwa and contrary to what many believe, we were not given any money,” she said.
She said before the robbers left they robbed them of Sh18,000, TV set, home theatre, four mobile phones all valued at Sh85,000.
“They had shot her son, Kevin Ambutsi, 17, when he tried to raise the alarm,” she said.
The teenager was taken to MSF hospital along Juja Road and later transferred to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) for specialised treatment.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) visited the scene and recorded statements from the family members.
“Officers recovered a spent cartridge of calibre 9mm which will be subjected to ballistic examination. No one has been arrested in
connection to the attack,” a senior officer said.
At least twelve cases of robberies, mostly involving shootings, have been reported across the country in the last five days.
