The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has launched an investigation into allegations that a senior citizen admitted to purchasing a pistol that was used in the killing of Tom Mboya in 1969.
Ndwiga Kathamba, 92, claimed in a newspaper story that he was one of three youths approached by an individual he could not name, due to a secrecy oath, to assassinate Tom Mboya, who was then the minister for Economic Planning and National Development.
According to Ndwiga, the three Kanu youth members were hired to eliminate Mboya six months before his assassination by a gunman on what is now Moi Avenue, Nairobi, on July 5, 1969, as he left a chemist near the National Archives.
The other two individuals involved were Gitonga Gathanju, the youth winger for Nyeri, and Nahashon Njenga for Kiambu; Ndwiga represented Embu district.
These [assassination] plots are complex and involve many people,” he said, adding that the plot was hatched by a powerful group of high-ranking government officials from Kiambu.
Ndwiga claimed he was given money to purchase three pistols from the black market on the Kenya-Somalia border. He was tasked with identifying the weapons, making the payment, and returning to Nairobi. The arms would then be smuggled into Nairobi and handed over to the youth wingers.
On the fateful day, the trio met at a hotel near Tea Room to plan how to accost Mboya, who they had been briefed was in the city centre for a meeting.
As they proceeded to Moi Avenue to carry out their mission, Ndwiga said he was nudged by his conscience and deliberately fell behind his accomplices. He boarded a public service vehicle and left for Embu, from where he followed the news of the killing.
Later, Njenga was convicted of the killing of Mboya and secretly hanged.
Following the reports, it had been announced by the DCI on Monday that an investigation into the matter had been initiated, with further action pending completion of the inquiry.
The attention of the DCI has been drawn to an article in the Saturday Nation dated July 6th, 2024, reporting that a 92-year-old man purchased the pistol used in the killing of Tom Mboya… The DCI has initiated an investigation, and necessary action will be taken once the investigation is complete,” wrote the DCI on X.
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