Police probe bizarre bow-and-arrow killing outside State House

Detectives on Monday began piecing together details behind the shocking incident in which a 56-year-old man fatally shot a police officer with an arrow near State House Gate D in Nairobi.

Police Constable Ramadhan Mattanka, who was on duty along Dennis Pritt Road, was struck in the ribs by an arrow after the assailant ignored repeated orders to surrender. 

He later died while undergoing treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital.

The attacker, whose identity police are yet to release, was swiftly subdued and arrested by officers from the General Service Unit (GSU). 

He is being held at Kilimani Police Station, where he is undergoing interrogation as homicide detectives seek to establish his motive.

Sources told Avdelta News that investigators from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have already recovered the weapon used — a traditional bow and a set of arrows — which have been sent to the government chemist for forensic analysis.

Police say initial findings suggest the suspect may have been mentally unstable, but officers are awaiting a medical evaluation to confirm this.

Meanwhile, colleagues and senior officers have visited the family of the late Constable Mattanka to offer condolences. 

The National Police Service (NPS) described him as a disciplined and dedicated officer who died in the line of duty.

“The loss has deeply affected the Service,” said a statementby Police Spokesman Michael Nyaga Muchiri.

 “It’s not something we encounter often — a man armed with arrows attacking police near State House. Everyone wants to understand what drove him,” added the statement. 

A post-mortem examination on Mattanka’s body is scheduled to be conducted at Kenyatta National Hospital mortuary before burial arrangements are announced.

The suspect is expected to be arraigned in court once investigations are complete.