Tom Mboya lay unconscious, bleeding profusely from his chest. The assassin, who later turned out to be Nahashon Isaac Njenga, quickly disappeared amidst the confusion, having pumped two bullets into Mboya’s chest- 5 July 1969🇰🇪
Tom Mboya, a prominent Kenyan Cabinet Minister, was assassinated on the afternoon of Saturday, July 5, 1969, on Government Road (now Moi Avenue) in Nairobi.
Mboya was gunned down outside Chhani's Pharmacy (also referred to as Chani's Chemist), where he had stopped to buy lotion.
As he stepped out of the pharmacy at approximately 1:30 PM, an assassin opened fire, shooting him twice in the chest.The force of the bullets pushed Mboya back into the shop, where the pharmacist, Mrs. Mohinni Chhani, attempted first aid and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
He was rushed by ambulance to Nairobi Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
The assassin Nahashon Isaac Njenga Njoroge, a former KANU youth winger who had received military training in Bulgaria, was arrested on July 9, 1969.Upon his arrest, he reportedly asked: "Why don't you go after the big man?". This phrase solidified public belief that the murder was a state-sponsored conspiracy to eliminate a powerful political figure.
His death caused significant unrest, with protesters rioting at his funeral and even stoning the car of President Jomo Kenyatta