Five suspects killed in botched robbery along Thika Road

Nairobi, Kenya: Five suspected thugs, including a woman, were Tuesday night shot dead at Clayworks area along Thika Road, Nairobi and an AK47 rifle, a pistol and bullet proof vest found on them.

The men and woman were in a matatu headed for Muranga Town for a robbery mission when police intercepted them, officials said.

The officers say they recovered 14 bullets from the victims’ guns. They had apparently picked the weapons from Mirema area for use in Muranga, Town on Wednesday morning, when police who had been tipped off acted.

According to police, the group had come to Nairobi in a matatu from Muranga and dropped other passengers in the city centre before they turned to Mirema in Kasarani where they were handed the weapons and vest.

The matatu driver was among the deceased men.

“The driver seems to have been part of the group because he drove there knowing what they were going to pick before they hit the road towards Muranga,” said police spokeswoman Zipporah Mboroki.

She added the group planned a major robbery in the town before Easter holidays.

The killing brought to six, the number of the suspects killed by police on Tuesday night. Earlier on, a suspected thug had been shot dead in a botched robbery incident at Kariobangi area, Nairobi.

Police said the suspect was in the company of three others and had been attacking and robbing residents when an alarm was raised.

This attracted police attention who moved into action, killing one. In the process, a pedestrian was shot and seriously wounded in the leg. The victim was rushed to hospital, treated and discharged.