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Suspected Kenyan bandits gunned down in Arusha


Three Kenyans suspected to be on a mission to rob banks and foreign exchange shops in Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions were on Thursday night gunned down alongside their Tanzanian accomplice by police near Arusha.

The trio have been identified as Simon Githinji Kariuki, Boniface Mwangi and Thadeo Kamau Njuguna and their local accomplice was Sixtus Alfred Ngowi, a resident of Arusha and hailing from Kilimanjaro.

According to the Arusha Regional Police Commander, Liberatus Sabas the four were holed up at Chekereni village near the city.

Following intelligence reports, they were cornered while allegedly plotting to raid the forex shops and banks in Arusha and Moshi.

“When the police convoy arrived at the suspects’ hideout, they started firing at the police. One of the Police vehicles was extensively damaged during the fire exchange but eventually the police managed to gun down the trio. Ngowi who was badly wounded in the shoot-out died while being rushed to hospital,” the RPC told reporters on Friday.

BANK ROBBERIES

The slain suspects were found with three black bags containing two AK-47 rifles. The police also uncovered an SMG gun, three pistols, a Luger CZ- 85B, a Chinese Pistol and several rounds of ammunition.

The hideout also contained gloves, credit cards, master cards, keys, three huge illumination torches, boots, police uniforms and a driving licence registered to one Thadeo Kamau Njuguna, the three Kenyan’s ID cards, five cellular phones and several wallets.

There was also an Identity Card belonging to the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) which was issued to one, ‘Chacha John Marwa.’

Records show that the killed suspects could have been involved in a number of bank robberies in Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro Regions in the past.

The incident brought memories of eleven Kenyan nationals who were gunned down by Tanzanian police in September 2007, alongside with three Tanzanian suspects, while allegedly planning to raid bank in Moshi.