Mombasa robbery: Gang trailed to Taveta kills Flying Squad officer

What you need to know:

  • The officer was with his colleagues when he was shot by two people linked to the robbery in Mombasa that was caught on CCTV cameras.
  • Mr Maroa said the officer had trailed the suspects from Mombasa and that he had also been working with police in Taveta.
  • The suspects escaped to neighbouring Tanzania.

A Flying Squad police officer was on Monday night killed in a shootout with suspected robbers in Taveta town, Taita Taveta County.

The officer was with his colleagues when he was shot by two people linked to the robbery in Mombasa that was caught on CCTV cameras.

He died at Taveta Sub-county Hospital and his body was taken to its mortuary, said Taveta divisional police commander (OCPD) Lawrence Maroa.

THE PURSUIT

Mr Maroa said the officer had trailed the suspects from Mombasa and that he had also been working with police in Taveta.

He said the officers had pursued the suspects since morning.

“He was the one who identified them. They shot him two times,” he said of the incident that brought the town to a standstill and saw residents and traders scamper for safety.

The suspects escaped to neighbouring Tanzania.

“They escaped using a boda boda towards Holili. The boda boda was abandoned at the border and they then escaped on foot,” the OCPD said, but added that a search was on.

“The operation is ongoing. We are doing all we can to arrest them."

DAYLIGHT ROBBERY

The suspected gangsters, the OCPD said, are believed to be members of a notorious group behind a series of robberies in Mombasa town.

Five suspects were arrested in Mombasa on Sunday after CCTV footage captured a group of men robbing a woman of her handbag in Makonde.

The undated video clip captures three men walking past their victim at an M-Pesa shop before two of them turn on the woman brandishing a gun.

Police identified the suspects as Mr Brighton Naiya Manyala, Mr Mohamed Hassan, Mr Chris Odhiambo Omondi, Mr Evans Munyoki Mburiro and Mr Mutonyi Nzamba.

During the arrest, two motorcycles, one of which was used during the robbery, were confiscated.