Why Kenyans want daring officer Joash Ombati feted

What you need to know:

  • A crowd that milled at scene was baying for the suspects blood.
  • The crowd animatedly called for the officer to shoot and kill the two suspects who he had just cornered.

It is a video clip that has gone viral on social media sites, on Facebook and Twitter.

Administration Police Constable Joash Ombati is seen cornering a white car in a not so busy road in Westlands, Nairobi, where he swiftly fires in the air before ordering the suspects out and making an arrest. This looks like a well scripted scene from a movie.

Scores of Kenyans, awed by his skill, mill around the scene, urging Mr Ombati to shoot-and-kill the suspects who are alleged to have violently robbed their victim, whom they threw out of a speeding car.

Si wameangusha mtu huko wakaua. Piga ya kichwa. Ua. Gonga risasi uue. Wamalize bana. Nipatie bunduki nipige. Piga risasi bana wataenda kuongana watoke (They have already killed their victim. Shoot them in the head. Kill them. Shoot and kill them. Finish them. Give me the gun I shoot. Shoot and kill, if taken to court they will bribe their way out,” some angry Kenyan men are heard telling Mr Ombati. 

But the officer that he is, Mr Ombati stays calm and pleads with the crowd: “Wachana na mimi bana, wachana na wao (Leave me alone. Leave them alone).”

The two male suspects, one of Asian origin, while lying on the road are seen uneasy, pleading with the angry mob not to harm them.

The original post on Facebook made Nyauma Mokaya says that officer on Wednesday afternoon saw a man being thrown out of a moving vehicle shouting wezi wezi (thieves, thieves).

"Mr Ombati decided to help the man, so he took a taxi and gave the vehicle a chase. He managed to intercept it at the junction of Westlands and Mpaka Road. Mr Ombati was able to recover Sh400,000, a vehicle KBJ 614J, Toyota NZE, white in colour and arrested two suspects namely, Mr Sameer Abdulaziz Kassim and Peter Kavoi Musili."

ONLINE DEAL

The suspects have since been detained at Parklands Police Station and face robbery with violence charges.

Mr Ombati said the complainant Mr Amos Charo went to the station and reported that he had Sh732,000, and had come from Voi to Nairobi to buy cheap construction materials from people he interacted with in the online shopping website OLX.

Police reports show that the suspects took Mr Charo to Westlands to meet a man whose name was only given as Mr Patel.

"They then took the money and threw him out of the vehicle and drove off near NIC bank," reads the police statement.

Mr Ombati, 34, hails from Kikuyu town and is a married father of two.

ONLINE LOBBYING

Following Mr Ombati’s display of bravery, Mr Mureithi wa Lucy send an appeal to President Uhuru Kenyatta and Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i on this year’s Mashujaa Day: “Salute to the AP cop. He should be promoted, and recognised by Matiang'i and Uhuru. Joash Ombati is indeed a Shujaa.”

Mr Nyauma Mokaya added: “As the State House compiles the list of those who should be awarded HSC awards on 20th Oct, they should also consider awarding this man for his [bravado] and sacrifice. We don't want to see individuals like Ben Githae and Githeriman who have contributed nothing for this country.”

Hashtags #IfikieBoinnet, #IfikieMatiangi have been trending since the post went online in Kenya’s Buyer Beware Facebook page as many netizens celebrate the rare gesture by a cop, while others dared the president to learn from Mr Ombati.

Mr Hae Kao Dang wrote: “What if Uhuru Kenyatta chased the corrupt thugs in his government who he has not shied away from admitting that they exist, caught up with them, and recovered Sh40 billion out of the billions that they have stashed outside in foreign bank accounts?”

Mr Sychase Miginis called on Kenyans to tag their President. “Someone tag Uhuru Kenyatta to come and read this!”

Mr Ombati continued to receive more adulation.

Mr Kamau Kimani commented: “This is true service. It deserves recognition and promotion.”