By Cyrus Ombati

NAIROBI, KENYA: A police officer was Tuesday night killed in a drive by shooting incident in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area.

Police authorities said Sergeant Adow Hussein, formerly of Criminal Intelligence Unit ( CIU) at CID headquarters was shot three times inside a taxi he was driving in with his brother along Muratina Road.

The gang that shot him later drove off without stealing anything from him and the brother who was unarmed after the attack.

Hussein and his brother who is also a police officer were in a taxi from a local hospital where they had visited an ailing child.

According to Nairobi County police commander Benson Kibue, three gunmen who were driving in a white Probox car drove past Hussein’s taxi before they blocked it.

One of the gunmen then stepped out and shot Hussein three times at close range in the head and chest before he jumped back into the car and drove off, he said.

“We do not know the motive of this killing but our officers are investigating it. The attackers did not steal anything from the deceased officer and the others who were in the taxi,” said Kibue.

Police believe the attackers had been trailing the deceased before they struck on a deserted road.

CIU is the elite unit of CID and is charged with collection of criminal intelligence within the service and public for action.

Its main mandate has been collection, tabulation and recording of history and data concerning crime, undesirable and suspicious persons or relating to individuals and matters calling for special enquiry.

Hussein had been transferred to Turkwel police station in Turkana in recent changes but protested the transfer. His colleagues said he had not been happy since he was moved.

A team of detectives has been formed to investigate the incident Kibue termed as murder.