Nairobi News

Sometime in May, Kenyans were treated to a movie-like shooting incident at Mirema Springs in Nairobi’s Roysambu neighbourhood where a man was shot dead in broad daylight.

The shooting of man, who was later identified as Samuel Mugo Muvota, shocked the nation in the way it was executed by a who alone gunman who escaped using a car that blocked his victim’s vehicle.

Now the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has revealed puzzling details of how a single firearm that was stolen from a police officer three years ago was used to terrorise members of the public within and outside Nairobi, including the Mirema.

The intriguing details by the DCI reveal that the officer who had been assigned the firearm that was recovered three years later was drugged and robbed of his belongings including the Jericho pistol (Serial Number KE KP44330654), after his drink was spiked at a city nightclub.

According to the DCI, the officer was found lying unconscious on Mtama Road in Highridge, Parklands area around 10am on June 20, 2019. The officer was later rushed to hospital by his colleagues.

DCI on Wednesday said that the officer was a victim of the infamous ‘mchele’ syndicate comprising of women who spike men’s’ drinks in nightclubs before robbing them.

“The officer was rushed to Avenue Hospital but his condition worsened, prompting his transfer to Nairobi West hospital for specialized treatment. Unknown to the officers, their colleague was a victim of the vicious gang of women who until recently had taken city nightclubs by storm and were spiking drinks belonging to male patrons with highly potent drugs meant for patients with mental disorders, before robbing them of their valuables,” said the DCI.

DCI, forensic investigations have linked the stolen firearm, which has since been recovered to criminal activities in Kasarani, Makadara, Kayole, Kamukunji, Dandora, Buruburu, Ruai, Kikuyu, Embakasi and Karatina.

The DCI further said that investigations have revealed that the women who drugged the officer was a part of a syndicate associated with the late Mr Muvota who was shot dead in Mirema.

According to the DCI, after the firearm was stolen, it was then hired to the dreaded Kayole gangs and has been used in the robbery of over Sh10 million from more than 30 M-Pesa shops within Nairobi.

“According to intelligence reports gathered by detectives based at the Crime Research & Intelligence Bureau, the firearm was then hired to gangsters operating from Kayole, who for the past three years have terrorized over 30 M-Pesa agents in the city,” said the DCI.

“Some have lost their lives while others bear permanent bullet marks that will forever be a sad reminder of their encounter with the bloodthirsty gang. Police officers have not been spared either as some continue nursing wounds, inflicted by the thugs who escaped several police dragnets.”

Three suspected gangsters have since been ganged down in crime incidents involving the Jericho Pistol. The DCI has promised to reveal how the DCI Forensic Ballistics unit, linked the firearm to the scenes of at least 28 incidents targeting M-Pesa shops.

Last month, three armed robbers believed to have been behind the killing of two traders at Adams Arcade in a botched robbery attempt were lynched by a mob in Kasarani.

Confirming the deaths, Kilimani Police Commander Andrew Mbogo said the three notorious thugs who were on police radar were cornered after they attacked an M-Pesa operator in Marurui area where they had stolen Sh900,000 before escaping on a motorbike.

The victim gave a chase using his car, hooting and appealing to members of the public for help. The trio were eventually cornered by a crowd that lynched them before police arrived at the scene. Police who collected the bodies also recovered a pistol at the scene.

The pistol, after undergoing ballistic examination at the National Forensic Laboratory, was identified as the same one used during the botched robbery at Adams Arcade and also linked to the one that was stolen from the officer three years ago.