Two robbery suspects killed, police officers injured in dramatic shootout at Lavington, Nairobi

GSU's elite squad Recce arrive at scene where suspected thugs had sought refuge from police officers. (Photo:Collins Kweyu/Standard)

By Cyrus Ombati

Nairobi, Kenya: Two police officers, including the Officer Commanding (OCS) Muthangari Police station in Nairobi, were wounded by gangsters in a five-hour gun battle that saw the involvement of an elite squad from the General Service Unit (GSU).

Two suspects were killed and two pistols with ten bullets recovered from them during the confrontation at a private residence along Mzima Springs Lane in Lavington estate.

It took reinforcement from at least ten members of GSU’s Recce Squad to bring to an end the standoff with one of the criminals who was holed up in the bedroom of a house in the lavish compound.

The officers arrived after their counterparts asked for help to arrest or kill the suspect, who was shooting from the bedroom window.

The OCS Muthangari, Krop Lipa, and a GSU officer were shot and wounded in the incident. Lipa was shot in the hand and stomach while the GSU officer was wounded in the legs. They were said to be in stable condition in hospital

The drama that lasted more than five hours started outside a petrol station along James Gichuru Road, where the suspects were spotted driving in two cars.

According to Nairobi police boss Benson Kibue, the gang was planning to raid the petrol station and a bank at the Lavington Shopping Centre. After realising they had been spotted, the suspects tried to escape with the police in hot pursuit.

“One of their cars veered off the road and hit a post before the occupants jumped out and escaped on foot as police pursued them. They later took refuge in a private residence,” explained Kibue.

At the residence, one of the suspects was killed by police as he hid in a flower bed. The second suspect ran into a house and held a house help hostage, demanding that she lock him inside because police were after him.

The house help lied to the gunman, who she said was trembling, that there was young baby outside that she needed to pick and he allowed her to run out of the house.

Five minutes

“I locked him inside and ran out to the road where I found police trying to locate where he was. I directed them and they went in and shot one of them,” said the maid.

The OCS was shot as he tried to force his way into the house to get the gunman, whom police suspect is a former police officer.

It was then that a decision was made to call Recce members who arrived and shot dead the suspect. One member of the squad was wounded in the exchange.

It took the officers about five minutes to gain entry into the house, amid loud blasts, kill the gunman and drive out of the compound in an ambulance with their injured colleague.

Kibue later described the drama as “normal crime” by thugs out to make quick money.

“This is normal crime and we have managed the situation,” he said.