Nyalenya police attack leaves officer dead, guns stolen

 

A police officer has been shot dead and several others injured after six armed robbers raided the Nyalenya Police patrol base in Musanda, Mumias West.

The 9pm raid on Friday night also left two G3 rifles missing, each loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition.

 According to the police report under Occurrence Book number 15/27/02/2026, made by Brian Kipngetich while in his house within the patrol base, it is stated that six people armed with an AK-47 on two motorbikes at 21:00 hours came to the police post to report that one of their motorbikes had been stolen at the Sigomere area and that they needed assistance.

However, before they were assisted by a police officer on duty, he heard a commotion at the report office and immediately heard a gunshot, prompting him to investigate the cause of the gunshot.

In the process, he was shot on the left side of the head, forcing him to run back to his house to raise an alarm.

Officer Commanding Police Station at Musanda Police Station, with other officers, rushed to the scene and found one police officer by the name Richard Utolo lying in a pool of blood at the report office with a visible wound on the chin.

Four other officers with bullet injuries were rushed to Bungoma West Hospital for treatment.

Richard Utolo was referred to Life Care Hospital in Bungoma for further treatment, but succumbed to the injuries early Saturday morning.

His body is lying in the mortuary waiting for an autopsy.

Police recovered two crowbars used to break into the steel box. The search for the missing riffles and spent cartridges is currently underway, and the motive of the attack is yet to be established.

The Western Regional Police Commander, Isaa Mohamud, confirmed the incident and told the Standard that a team of police officers has been deployed to the area to recover the stolen rifles and search for the attackers.

"We have deployed reinforcement of police officers to the police base to recover the stolen guns and ensure attackers are brought to book, and we will provide more information after thorough investigations and establishing the motive of the attack,” he said, adding, “Otherwise, all is well, the situation is under control.”