Crime

18 April 2023

• The detectives took mobile phones belonging to some of those who were in the house at the time of the incident.

• Ismail was shot dead in Nairobi’s South C area by a gunman who accessed his bedroom.

A 41-year-old man who was shot and killed in cold blood in his bedroom in Nairobi’s South C area was targeted by gunmen who knew him, police say.

Questions are being raised about how Imran Ismail Singh, 41, an accountant at a Nairobi-based firm, was shot twice in the head while sleeping in his home in Midlands Estate at around 2 am on Saturday.

Detectives handling the case suspect he was targeted because of among others “a family feud” over the management of their property.

Ismail was a trustee in the family property and swayed influence in the manner in which they were run.

Police say the immediate family members of Ismail remain persons of interest in the murder probe because they were in the house at the time of the incident.

“The family squabbles over management of their property is among the theories we are pursuing. We will know more as the probe progresses,” said an investigator aware of the incident.

Homicide detectives from the DCI were on Saturday afternoon collecting crucial items that will help in the probe into the murder.

The detectives have asked the neighbors of the home to share CCTV footage captured at that time in an effort to get the attacker and motive.

The team took mobile phones belonging to some of those who were in the house at the time of the incident.

Ismail was shot dead in Nairobi’s South C area by a gunman who accessed his bedroom.

He was found in a pool of blood in his bed by the family members, police said.

He was bleeding from the mouth and nose then. Police recovered one bullet head and a spent cartridge from the room.

Ismail was apparently alone in the room at the time of the shooting, police and the family said.

Ismail’s mother and his two sisters who were sleeping in the same house told police they heard gunshots and on rushing to the room, they found the assassin had already escaped.

It is believed one gunman executed the job, Nairobi police boss Adamson Bungei said, adding detectives are investigating the incident.

Imenti North Member of Parliament Rahim Dawood, a first cousin to the deceased and the family spokesperson, said the family suspected that the assassin gained access through the balcony of Imran’s room.

He said the balcony door was open and Ismail has not been closing it.