Murang’a theft suspects facing angry mob implicate police

Angry residents of Kiambamba village in Kambiti, Murang'a County on September 9, 2019 block police officers from arresting three people whom they had apprehended on suspicion of stealing from them. The suspects claimed that officers at a local AP camp are their accomplices. PHOTO | NDUNG'U GACHANE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By  NDUNGU GACHANE

What you need to know:

  • Stolen goods were recovered from the house of one of the suspects.
  • Mr John Irungu Ng’ang’a, an elder, said the police officers should be fired and charged in court.
  • Murang’a South OCPD Dorothy Gaitenga said they have received the complaints about the officers.

Police bosses in Murang’a are investigating claims that some officers are part of gang that has been breaking shops and stealing valuables before selling them at Makutano market and Thika town in Kiambu County.

The gang of three was arrested by an angry mob in Kiambamba village, Kambiti Location on Wednesday.

Stolen goods were recovered from the house of one of the suspects.

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BLAME OFFICERS

And as the irate mob threatened to lynch them, they pleaded for mercy, saying that officers at the Kiambamba Administration Police (AP) camp are to blame for their woes as they are their accomplices.

The angry locals, who decided to search to the suspects’ homes without the help of the police, recovered items stolen from shops which are barely 100 meters from the AP post.

Mr John Irungu Ng’ang’a, an elder, said the police officers should be fired and charged in court, saying that residents have suffered for long.

“We can’t trust the police officers at this camp. We have reported the theft cases to them and even named the key suspects without getting any help. To make the matters worse, they have been implicated in the theft syndicate. We don’t want them in this camp anymore,” Mr Nganga told journalists.

CALL TO ARREST OFFICERS

Drama ensued after the implicated police officers tried to arrest the culprits, with the locals saying they too should be arrested and charged alongside the suspects.

This forced the officers to seek reinforcement from Makuyu Police Station.

“Why should you arrest your fellow suspects? We want all of you to be arrested and charged alongside these suspects,” the irate locals told the officers.

The suspects narrated how they steal from shops and take the stolen goods to one of their hideouts home with the help of the police who look for market for the items in Thika’s Makongeni estate and Makutano in Kirinyaga County.

LOOK FOR MARKET

“We steal with the help of the police officers during the night. It is them who look for market in Makongeni and Makutano areas,” the suspects who sought lenience from the angry mob said.

Murang’a South OCPD Dorothy Gaitenga told the Nation that they have received the complaints from the locals and that they are planning to visit the area to investigate the matter, adding that the officers would be transferred.

“We have received the complaints and we will be visiting the area. We urge locals to record statements against the police for them to be charged. But all the same, they will be transferred since there cannot be a proper working relationship between the implicated officers and the members of public,” the police boss said.

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