A senior Court Assistant at the Migori Law Courts was shot dead while on her way to work on Friday, May 5.
In a statement by Chief Justice Martha Koome on Sunday, May 7, Phoebe Auma Suda was on her way to the court but was tracked by a gunman on a motorcycle who shot her together with the motorcycle rider. The duo succumbed due to excessive bleeding.
The CJ noted that police officers had commenced investigations to uncover the proceedings of the incident.
"It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that one of our staff members Phoebe Auma Suda, a Senior Court Assistant at the Migori Law Courts was shot dead on Friday while on her way to work. Auma was riding as a pillion when a lone gunman also on a motorcycle shot her dead together with the motorcycle rider."
"The matter is being investigated by local police and we will provide further details to the Judiciary family and wider public once the details of the investigation are made available.
"On behalf of the Judiciary, I wish to convey our heartfelt condolences and sympathy to her family following this tragedy," she stated.
The CJ did not, however, reveal whether Auma was working on a sensitive case that could have placed her as a primary target by the perpetrators.
She, however, urged officers working on the case to expedite the investigations and dispense justice to Auma's family.
According to the Economic Survey 2023 report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), Nairobi was listed as the most crime-prevalent county, followed by Kiambu, Meru and Nakuru.
The report revealed that Mandera was the safest county in Kenya, followed by Wajir and Lamu.
“Offences against persons, stealing and offences against morality jointly accounted for more than half of total crimes reported to the police in 2022."
“The highest increase in crimes reported to the police was recorded for theft of stock (36.4 per cent) followed by traffic offences (28.5 per cent) and robbery (27.2 per cent),” the report indicated.
The report indicated that the rate of crime increase in the country was due to the possession of criminals carrying firearms.
