The husband of Winnie Kerubo, an M-Pesa attendant who was shot and killed in broad daylight by robbers on Friday along Moi Avenue says the family has lost the sole breadwinner.

Dennis Mabeya, 25, termed the incident unfortunate as it robbed him of a loving and caring wife who has been supporting him and their two children.

Kerubo trained as an accountant at Tebotech College in Mombasa where she graduated with a diploma in accounting. She lived at Mikindani Sunset area, Mombasa county.

 “I got a call from the hospital asking me to report to the hospital because my wife was sick.

Upon arrival at the Coast General Hospital, I searched for her everywhere thinking she was at the emergency, only to be informed that she was dead. At first, I did not believe it, I just walked away,” said Mabeya.

The 24-year-old woman reported to her work station, Shash Limited at Express area, Moi Avenue Mombasa where she worked as an M-Pesa attendant and around  8.30 am she was sent to deposit  cash in a nearby bank. 

Similar attacks

A few yards away from her work station, two gun-totting robbers on a motorbike accosted her.   CCTV footage that captured the incident shows Kerubo trying to resist the robbers. 

She tried to escape, but the robbers shot her, leaving her sprawling on the ground.

The robbers then disappeared with a black bag that contained the money. She succumbed to gunshot wounds while being rushed to hospital.

The robbers fled on a motorcycle, a strategy that has been used in similar attacks.

 According to her husband of six years, the late Kerubo was a trained accountant who had worked at the M-Pesa shop for the last two year. 

“My wife was supporting the family because I have been jobless. The little salary she earned from her work station is what we used to buy food and pay rent.

Now that she is dead, I feel so bad because I have lost a loving and caring partner,” Mabeya told People Daily.

Rights defenders

Her husband, who deferred his studies in the third year at Mount Kenya University due to lack of fees, said he has been doing casual jobs to make ends meet.

Yesterday, the family led by Ezekiel Amenya Kerubo’s uncle, had begun making preparations for the burial expected to be on Tuesday next week at Ragangi Village in Kisii county.

“We are perturbed by the incident and we blame the police for sleeping on their job. We demand full investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators.

At Shash Limited,where Kerubo worked, the manager who did not want to be quoted termed her as a dedicated worker.

The killing has sparked outrage with human rights defenders demanding that police take full responsibility for the incident.

Haki Africa Rapid response officer, Mathias Shipeta said the organisation has recorded at least nine deaths since January this year, all of them related to M-Pesa robbery.

“We are demanding an explanation how weapons like those used by police officers are in the hands of civilians, Police should be held accountable for failing to provide security to Mombasa residents,” said Shipeta.