The sniper theory has been disproven by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in connection with the February 13 shooting death of a National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) employee in Nairobi.
Mary Lillian Waithera was slain by a 9mm handgun, according to ballistics tests on the bullet head that was lodged in her left lung, according to DCI Director Amin Mohamed.
“From my experience, I will say that that was not the work of a sniper. Snipers ordinarily go for rifles with longer barrels for purposes of accuracy, the shorter the barrel the shorter the accuracy. So if a sniper indeed wanted to eliminate her, he would not have used a pistol,” Mr Amin explained in an n an exclusive interview with the Nation.
On the question of whether the killer used a silencer on the gun, Mr Amin said the crowding of the street and the nature of the weapon may have muzzled the sound of the gunshot.
“At the point of the release of the thrust we may have been able to hear, but then you realise that a 9mm bullet will travel at least a distance of one kilometre. Again, considering that the area was the CBD, a crowded place, the possibility of hearing that gunshot would be minimal,” he said.
