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OCS shot as thugs engage police in gunfight

Police officers from Recce  Company prepare to storm the compound where a thug is hiding/JOSEPH MURAYA

Police officers from Recce Company prepare to storm the compound where a thug is hiding/JOSEPH MURAYA

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 11 – A senior police officer is in critical condition after he was shot by gangsters on Monday afternoon in Lavington, Nairobi.

The Officer Commanding Muthangari police station Krop Lipa was shot as his officers engaged the armed thugs in a shootout near the Lavington Green shopping mall.

He is undergoing treatment in a Nairobi hospital.

One of the thugs was killed in the shootout while his accomplices took cover in a residential house in the neighbourhood.

The gang was however dealt with swiftly when officers from the elite Recce Company of the GSU were deployed to neutralise him.

It took the commandos less than 10 minutes to get the job done and leave the scene, although one of them was injured in the gunfight.

Dagoreti OCPD Mathew Gwiyo told reporters at the scene that they recovered three pistols and 22 bullets.

Recounting the events leading up to the shoot-out, Gwiyo said the police foiled an attempted robbery at a petrol station and pursued the armed robbers who were in two vehicles.

“One of their cars veered off the road and hit a post before the occupants jumped out and escaped on foot as police pursued them. They later took refuge in a private residence,” he said.

At the residence, one of the suspects was killed by police under a flowerbed where he had hid and a revolver pistol found on him, while the other one was killed by the Recce squad officers.

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The armed robbers had been holed-up inside the house after being locked-in by a house help who promised she would not reveal their hideout to the police in pursuit of them.

She however later alerted the police as to their whereabouts police after escaping through back door and reaching a safe distance.

Other than Lipa, another officer was injured though Gwiyo says he is in a stable condition.

Gwiyo who was grateful to members of the public for offering information in regards to the planned robbery also warned those engaged in crime that his officers were on high alert.

“The information from members of the public has helped us to succeed in this,” he said.

His message to robbers was, “we have declared war against crime within Nairobi. We are going to deal with them firmly.”

The shoot-out lasted for more than five hours prior the Recce unit getting to the scene.

Nairobi County police boss Benson Kibue also warned individuals engaged in crime that those caught would face the full force of the law.

“We shall not relent in this war until the city is safe and we are in control,” he stated raising the question as to who was in control.

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Four other suspected armed robbers were also killed at Nairobi’s Outering Road near Jam Rescue on Sunday after they defied orders to stop and instead opened fire on officers.

The Special Crime Prevention Unit Police (SCPU) – headed by Noah Katumo – responded to a tip off received at 8.30pm of suspicious characters and started trailing them.

A homemade pistol, two 38mm special bullets, a mobile phone, a 42’’ LG TV set, assorted ATM cards and a bunch of keys were recovered in the operation.

“Our officers managed to fatally injure the four but one escaped with gunshot wounds. We have launched a manhunt for the escapee,” Kibue said.

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