NAIROBI, Kenya — Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi has raised alarm over his safety after a bullet pierced the roof of his neighbour’s home in Kibiku, barely 50 metres from his residence, in what he described as a disturbing and unexplained shooting incident.
According to the neighbour, Margaret Njeri, the shot was fired on Sunday afternoon shortly after she returned home from church.
Initially assuming a stone had hit her roof, she later discovered a hole above her children’s bedroom and a cartridge lying on the floor.
“I wondered who could be coming after us. The governor’s residence neighbours my home… I wondered if he was the target,” she said, noting that the governor often walks around the community unaccompanied. She reported the matter at Kibiku Police Station, where it was logged under OB 05/1/12/2025.
Wamatangi said he had attended church services in Ruiru and at CITAM Kiambu Road, later stopping for tea with several leaders before returning to his home. After briefly entering his house, he went out to inspect his farm, where he found people logging trees and cautioned them.
Minutes later, he was notified of the shooting.
“The time between when I was at the shamba and when the bullet was fired is very short. What was the shooter aiming at at 3:30 pm?” he asked.
Calling the incident “very unfortunate,” the governor said the bullet struck just metres from where he had been standing and tore through the roof of a children’s bedroom.
Wamatangi urged security agencies to swiftly establish who fired the shot, from where, and with what motive.
“The cartridge can be subjected to tests to determine its source and the holder of the firearm used,” he said, adding that intimidation would not deter him.
Kiambu County Assembly Majority Leader Godfrey Mucheke suggested political motives, saying local leaders and MCAs had previously faced threats.
“It saddens us that such an incident can occur in such a quiet village, especially with police located so close by,” he said.
