Five men in custody over gun and teargas canisters

Homa Bay Police Station. [James Omoro, Standard]

Police in Homa Bay County are holding five suspects who were found with a homemade gun and tear gas canisters in two sub-counties.

In Rachuonyo East Sub-county, a man was arrested with a homemade gun. The man wanted to enter Kabondo Kasipul Constituency Tallying Center at Ringa Boys High School on Wednesday night. The suspect was going to the tallying centre in the company of another man who identified himself as a chief agent of an MCA candidate for Kabondo West Ward. The suspect identified himself as a security guard of the MCA candidate.

Police ordered them to produce their identification documents. However, when the police were frisking the 'security agent' in order to ascertain whether they were armed or not, they found that he was armed with a weapon. When the man suspected that the gun was going to be discovered, he ran away towards Ringa market where he locked himself inside a toilet.

Police broke the toilet door and found him with the gun which they discovered was capable of firing bullets. Homa Bay County Police Commander Samson Kinne said the suspect was arrested and detained at Ringa Police Station. Elsewhere in Homa Bay Sub-county, four men were arrested with teargas canisters on Wednesday night.

The suspects wanted to enter the county tallying centre at Tom Mboya University with the weapons. They were detained at Homa Bay Police Station.

"We already have them in our custody," Kinne said.