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Assassination claims as Bomas official shot
dead
By ODHIAMBO ORLALE A team leader in the constitutional review talks was shot by gunmen yesterday. Dr Odhiambo Mbai, chairman of the Devolution Committee of the National Constitutional Conference, was killed in attack at his Nairobi home. The raid was described as an "assassination" by minister Raila Odinga, who was among the first to arrive at Nairobi Hospital, where Dr Mbai was taken by neighbours. A shocked Constitutional Review chairman, Prof Yash Pal Ghai, also said he suspected the killers were hired gunmen. "The committee had made great progress and it is possible that there were some people who were not happy with its work and wanted to slow it down," he told the Nation. The gunmen burst into the university don's home near Adam's Arcade at about 3pm and opened fire, shooting him in the head, arm, stomach and thigh before escaping on foot. They did not steal anything. Dr Mbai was rushed to the Nairobi Hospital, where he died during an operation as doctors struggled to remove the bullets from his body. Earlier, addressing the press outside the hospital after Dr Mbai had been admitted, Mr Odinga said: ''There has been an assassination attempt on the life of Dr Mbai, who was the chairman of the devolution committee. This comes shortly after some delegates from Nyanza province had called a press conference to express fear that they were being trailed by unknown people, who had threatened them. This speaks volumes and your guess is as good as mine.'' But police said they were treating the shooting as an ordinary crime until other evidence comes up. Mr Odinga, who holds the Works, Roads and Public Housing portfolio, said it was significant the gang went straight for Dr Mbai and shot him without stealing anything. The gunmen hijacked a matatu on the busy Ngong Road and fled towards Karen. Only Dr Mbai, a close friend of Mr Odinga's and political science lecturer, and one of his daughters, Catherine, were at home when the gang struck at their maisonette. Catherine was taking a nap in an upstairs bedroom when she heard a commotion followed by three loud gunshots. She rushed downstairs and found her father bleeding profusely on the sofa set. He had been reading the Sunday newspapers. The Nairobi university student screamed as the three assailants rushed out of the house and escaped across the guarded compound to the main road. A neighbour, Kamukunji MP Norman Nyagah, helped Caroline and others at the scene to carry the wounded don into his Range Rover. He was rushed to Nairobi Hospital where he was taken straight to theatre. Mr Nyagah had just arrived from Mombasa when he heard three loud shots and commotion coming from Dr Mbai's house. Said the Chief Whip. ''I came from Mombasa today and as I was reading the newspapers I heard a commotion followed by three loud gunshots from Dr Mbai's house. I rushed there and found him bleeding on the sofa with gunshot wounds on his head and chest.'' Among the first to arrive at the hospital were Mr Odinga and former Kisumu mayor Shakeel Shabbir. The minister said all the information gathered so far indicated that it was an assassination attempt. Dr Mbai's Devolution Committee is one of the 12 technical teams writing the Constitution at the Bomas of Kenya. He is among the key people in the National Constitutional Conference, which has been dogged by controversy over radical reforms in the government structure. Mr Odinga said that as a delegate and a member of the welfare committee, he had ensured that the death threats were reported to police. On September 11, a group of Nyanza delegates led by a Mr George Ochieng Orwa from Suba told the Press their lives were in danger after they exposed attempts to bribe participants in order to scuttle the review conference. Present at the press conference were Mr Shabir and Mbita MP Otieno Kajwang'. A rapporteur in the same committee, Mr Mutakha Kangu, said: "The wrangling that has been going on about the sharing of power has been worrying. I would not be surprised if someone felt they would derail the process by taking such an action. But at the same time, it could also be normal thuggery." Others at the hospital were MPs Oburu Oginga and Joseph Kamotho and a Ford People official, Ms Orie Rogo Manduli. Dr Mbai was considered a likely candidate for the Rangwe seat on an LDP ticket but was prevailed upon to stand down for Mr Philip Okundi. The devolution committee is looking at the distribution of power from the central government to district and civic authorities. http://www.nationaudio.com/News/DailyNation/Today/News/mainNews1509200 361.html The
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