15-year-old arrested in connection to robbery cases in Nairobi
Police in Nairobi on Wednesday arrested a 15-year-old boy suspected to be behind a string of armed robberies in the city.
According to the police, the juvenile was arrested after a 6-kilometre chase along the Southern Bypass and inside the Nairobi National Park after he jumped into the park to evade arrest.
The boy was arrested by DCI officers who were on regular patrol and a knife, which he allegedly used to stab victims, was also recovered.
“He led the officers to a spot close to Wilson Airport, where they recovered a knife he uses to stab victims before taking off with their valuables,” the statement read in part.
According to DCI, rangers from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) joined the chase and cornered the suspect after a long-running battle across the park. He was then handed over to the duty officer.
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“The juvenile was arrested after a 6-kilometre chase along the Southern Bypass and inside the Nairobi National park, after he threw caution to the wind and jumped into the park to evade arrest,” said DCI in a statement.
“Rangers from the Kenya Wildlife Service who had watched the chase from the top of their surveillance vehicles came to their aid. Moments later, the teenager who had taken cover at a thicket approximately 200 metres from the perimeter spotted the fast-approaching Rangers.”
Detectives further said that they had positively identified the boy as the suspect behind an armed robbery where a man lost a high-end phone among other valuables on November 2, along the bypass close to the South-C area.
The arrest comes amidst a spate of robberies witnessed in Nairobi with residents decrying the resurgence of armed criminal gangs who often stab their victims before fleeing with their valuables.
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On Monday, detectives arrested the alleged mastermind behind the spate of armed robberies that have rocked the city in the past few days.
John Mutiso Makau alias Katitu, believed to be a returnee from the Al-Shabaab militia in Somalia, was arrested after a dramatic chase in Nairobi’s Kayole estate, pitting detectives from the elite Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, backed up by a contingent of officers from Kayole police division.
In the 48-hour planned operation, detectives had prior to Katitu’s arrest rounded up two of his accomplices Brian Wambua Mbindyo and Danson Musyoka Mulee.
According to the detectives, trouble for the thugs started when the sleuths gathered sufficient actionable intelligence regarding their whereabouts, following the gruesome killing of a man who was shot at four times in broad daylight, seconds after walking out of a bank in Donholm, on October 31, 2022.
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