Man who snatched police gun, killing two people was a top student
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has finally identified the man who two weeks ago went on a shooting spree in Kisumu killing two people and injuring five others.
The family identified his body on Wednesday after DCI appealed to the public to help identify him.
According to the family, Ambrose Odero Owino attended Sengere Secondary School in Siaya and scored a B (minus) in his KCSE examinations in 2016 emerging the 7th best candidate.
The 25-year-old Odero, now deceased, is believed to have been the man behind the broad daylight attack, with detectives visiting the school and confirming he was a student there.
Odero was killed by mob justice after he snatched a firearm from a traffic Police Officer on duty near Kisumu bus park and opened fire indiscriminately.
Read: Man snatches police gun, kills two people
DCI, in a statement, said the traffic police was controlling traffic at the BP roundabout near Kisumu Boys High School when he was accosted by the man who was wearing a balaclava, with only his eyes visible and gloves on both hands.
They described the shooting, as a “few minutes of terror”.
“The assailant, who was allegedly dressed in a balaclava only revealing his eyes had attacked the officer from behind pushing him on the tarmac,” the statement read in part.
According to DCI, Odero had never applied for the national identity card.
On the fateful day, he was found with three ID cards bearing different names; one for Glen Ochieng, while the other two were for Joseph Otieno Masaka and Joseph Odeny Mutula.
According to his kin, soon after completing his secondary school education, he received a letter of admission to join Maseno University, but they could not afford to raise the required school fees to secure his admission.
His aunt later secured him a job at a mattress company in Kisumu, which required him to have an ID card.
Investigations have since revealed that he scanned someone else’s ID card and used it to secure the job.
“But his employment was short-lived because, towards the end of 2019, every employee was asked to produce his or her original identity cards, in an exercise that was spearheaded by the National Employment Authority,” read the report.
He knew he did not have an ID card hence absconded duty leading to his eventual dismissal.
Detectives obtained a copy of his dismissal letter from Jokali Handling Services, a human resource firm, which Foam Mattresses had contracted to offer human resource services.
In the letter dated February 2, 2020 written by Dennis Ambeva Ludenyo, Jokali’s operations manager, Odero was relieved of his duties for failure to produce his documents as ordered by the National Employment Authority.
DCI said they are investigating the whereabouts of Odero from February last year when he was sacked, to the day he staged the Kisumu shooting.
The detectives are also seeking to establish how and where he acquired the weapon handling skills that he displayed and who may have been his accomplices.