Policeman shot by Eastleigh gang succumbs to injuries

Nairobi, Kenya: A police officer who was shot and wounded by a criminal gang in Eastleigh, Nairobi has died.

The officer succumbed to his injuries Wednesday night at Kenyatta National Hospital where he was admitted since Sunday morning.

Officials said the constable of police was patrolling with other colleagues and had tried to arrest a group of suspected thugs when he was shot in the abdomen.

The attackers managed to escape and no arrest has been made so far.

“We believe the attackers are part of a larger criminal gang operating in the area but we will get them,” said an officer aware of the operations, who asked not to be named.

Cases of rising crime in Eastleigh have been on the rise with gang members of Superpower being blamed.

The gang is composed of mainly young men, most of whom are deportees from the US and Europe.

A special squad of police has been formed to hunt down the criminal gang.

Police authorities said they are also hunting down on the gang that was behind the shooting.

Nairobi has seen an increase of criminal gangs that operate especially in informal settlements.

Most of the gangs are engaged in extortions, levying of protection fee, muggings, heckling/disrupting political rallies and events, drug trafficking and kidnappings.

The most common and emerging now is Gaza, which police say is operating in Kayole area of Nairobi. It is also composed of young men.