Following the series of armed robberies that have rocked Nairobi’s Eastleigh neighbourhood in the recent past threatening the livelihoods of thousands of residents, detectives based at DCI Starehe, came face to face with the assailants last night.
The thugs responsible for countless robberies targeting innocent residents, some staged in broad daylight and recorded by CCTV cameras, had in their characteristic manner and style accosted a middle-aged woman last night and robbed her of her valuables along Agoi road, within Pangani shopping centre.
The badly shaken woman who almost lost her earlobes as the thugs forcefully made away with her gold coated earrings rushed to Pangani police station and narrated her ordeal to the officers manning the report office.
Immediately, police officers and Starehe based sleuths out on patrol were raised via control and a manhunt for the thugs operating on two motorbikes was immediately launched.
A few minutes later, two thugs came face to face with the officers of the law along Dr Griffins road, prompting a fierce shootout after the thugs defied orders to surrender. The two were fatally wounded and a black revolver loaded with 6 rounds of federal 38 special was recovered.
Preliminary investigations conducted by ballistics experts at the DCI National Forensic Laboratory have linked the firearm to the spate of robberies that have left the lives of residents living along Eastleigh’s 2nd avenue, unbearable.
This is after the sleuths who are experts in shooting incident reconstruction, gunshot residue and shot pattern analysis placed the firearm at the scene of previous crimes committed within Eastleigh and its environs.
Also recovered were woman’s phone and other valuables, earlier stolen from her. The getaway motorbike a red boxer registration no KMFS 774G, whose plate numbers the detectives established are interchanged often to avoid detection, was also recovered. The bike has previously been captured in a cctv footage being used a gateway means by the fallen thugs.
Ballistic detectives are leaving no stone unturned in their scientific analysis and are currently tracing the origin of the firearm that is not commonly used in the country, with all indications pointing at neighbouring Somalia as the point of origin. The possibility that the firearm may have been sneaked into the country for other motives cannot be ruled out.
The Starehe based detectives and Pangani police officers have been credited for the current state of security being enjoyed by residents in the larger Mathare and Huruma areas, following the annihilation of the notorious Katombi gang a few weeks ago.
The gang had made the lives of residents, especially women and children unbearable, by committing all manner of crimes including rape and defilement of minors.
Meanwhile, the detectives are not done as a manhunt for the thugs who escaped on the second motorbike is currently ongoing.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations is cautioning criminals that their days are numbered. Our officers are on high alert in the fulfillment of their mandate and will not hesitate to take action in case of any eventuality, in strict conformity to the law.
