Fresh twist in shooting death of two robbery suspects as police deny involvement

The case in which two suspected robbers were shot dead and two firearms and KSh1.13 million recovered in Kigumo, Murang'a County, has taken a fresh twist.

Initially, it had been reported that the two were shot dead by police officers following a fierce shootout on Sunday, March 12 morning.

However, Central Regional Commissioner Fredrick Shisia on Tuesday, March 14 said that police officers were not responsible for the killing of the suspects.

According to Shisia, police got a tip off from members of the public about the whereabouts of the suspects. After their arrests and brief interrogation, the suspects allegedly promised to take the officers to a scene where they hid two guns.

“Once the robbers were arrested, they confided to the officers that they knew where the guns were hidden…upon getting to the forest, other gang members opened fire at the officers to our surprise and the two suspects were caught in the crossfire,” Shisia said.

Police guns

The two guns, Shisia says, were found to be those stolen from police officers.

“We are concerned about how they used the guns because the AK47 was stolen with 30 ammunition and during recovery, only 14 were recovered… the G3 rifle had 12 ammunition and upon recovery, it had eight,” added Shisia.

Shisia now says that they have the names of the other gang members who were able to escape during the shootout, and they are pursuing them.

"As far as the Central region is concerned, we are not going to tolerate criminal gangs. Members of the public should go on with their day-to-day business without fear."

IPOA opens probe

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has since launched investigations into the incident.

The suspects are alleged to have on Saturday, March 11 staged a robbery at Unaitas SACCO Mununga branch, within Kigumo town, where they made away with KSh1.13 million after disarming a police officer and taking possession of his G3 rifle.