Bangladesh High Commissioner to Kenya robbed in his Karen home

By CYRUS OMBATI

Nairobi, Kenya: Bangladesh High Commissioner to Kenya Wahidur Rahman was on Saturday night attacked and robbed of cash and valuables at his residence in Karen, Nairobi.

Police and guards at his compound said Rahman escaped unhurt after the 9pm incident in which he was robbed more than Sh170, 000, a laptop, mobile phones, a TV set and other electronic goods.

The High Commissioner was in his house with his family when a gang of about six raided and ordered him to surrender the valuables.

He said his wife was shocked following the incident and taken to hospital.

“My wife was shocked about this incident and she is in hospital now,” said Rahman.

Following the incident, two private security guards who were manning the compound have been arrested for interrogation as part of investigations into the attack.

Nairobi head of CID Nicholas Kamwende said they believe the guards knew about the incident and that efforts to trace the attackers are ongoing.

“The guards ought to have known about this incident and we wonder how the attackers managed to gain entry into the compound that early,” said Kamwende.

Kamwende led a high team of police to the compound on Sunday as they met to plan security for the area.

The team agreed to deploy officers from Flying Squad to patrol the area that is increasingly becoming a playing field for burglars.

On Friday, top security chiefs met under the chairmanship of the County Co-ordinator Ndirangu Njoroge to discuss the attacks among other insecurity incidents.

Last week on Wednesday, Makueni MP Daniel Maanzo and his wife were attacked and injured by thugs at their Hardy area, Karen, Nairobi.

The two were admitted in hospital for treatment after the attack in which they were robbed of their cash and valuables.

Police said the attack took place at about 3am as the MP and his family were sleeping.

Police said the gang of four first scaled the wall into the compound, smashed a pane of a kitchen door before they opened and grabbed a house girl who was sleeping there and ordered her to open the other rooms upstairs.

The gang then proceeded to the other rooms including the MP’s bedroom where they attacked him and his wife robbing them of their valuables and cash.

Karen and other posh estates have been under attack from gangs who stage burglaries while looking for valuables and cash. Police say they have enhanced operations to curb the crime.

Preliminary findings show the attacks are staged by former workers or guards at the affected compounds.