NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 25 – Eight Police officers linked to the Sh25 million robbery at Nairobi’s Yaya Centre on Wednesday have been sacked.
Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere said those sacked include four Administration Police officers and four regular police officers who are believed to have played part in executing the robbery.
“In the course of investigations, it has been established that some of our officers from both the regular and Administration police were involved in this criminal offence,” he told reporters.
“We have taken disciplinary action and all the officers involved have already been dismissed from service,” he added.
Mr Iteere said all those involved in the robbery would be brought to book.
And even as he spoke, eight suspects including one Administration Police officer were arraigned in court for the same offence.
Court documents stated that the amount of money stolen was Sh33 million, contrary to Mr Iteere’s figure of Sh25 million.
Asked to comment about the anomaly, he said: “The particulars we have show that it is Sh25 million. That is the amount that was left in the van when the rest of the group went to load ATM’s at Yaya centre.”
The robbery occurred on Wednesday when a G4S security van transporting money disappeared mysteriously from one of the entrances to the shopping mall where it had been parked as officials of the security van replenished some ATM’s in the mall.
The crew told police they had left an armed Administration policeman to guard the van and another saloon car outside only to realize the van was missing when they came out a few minutes later.
“That is when the search began,” Special Crime Prevention Unit chief Richard Katola said.
Three hours later, residents reported that they had seen the van parked at the entrance of an office apartment on Chania Avenue, about 500 meters away.
When police officers and journalists arrived there, they found an Administration Police man sleeping and clutching onto his MP5 rifle which his colleagues said was loaded with 25 rounds of ammunition.
“The van was empty, there was no money inside,” Mr Katola added.
Investigations into the robbery have led to the arrest of 12 suspects, according to Mr Iteere.
“Sh825,000 shillings has been recovered and some suspects arrested. Some of them have already appeared in court and the probe is ongoing,” he said.
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