Kenya Police officers linked to criminal activities

Steve Mwongela of Nakuru central police station, a suspected police officer who is among others arrested in Kericho. (PHOTO: BONIFACE THUKU)

KENYA: Five police officers were arrested in Nakuru over the weekend for allegedly dabbling in crime, giving credence to allegations that law enforcers are behind the surging wave of robberies in the town.

The officers, who are expected to enforce the law, protect and secure the public, are now being accused of using their weapons to rob and harm the same people they swore to protect.

On Saturday evening, three armed officers from Nakuru were arrested in Kericho after they reportedly abducted a motorist. The male officers, who were in the company of a woman, were arrested by Kericho CID officers.

The three are said to have carjacked the motorist and demanded a ransom of Sh2 million from him before officers from Kericho, who were monitoring them, pounced and cut short their mission.

Nakuru Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) Bernard Kioko identified the suspects as Charles Shikami of Bondeni Police Station, Steve Mwongera (Central Police Station) and Peter Gitau, a CID officer who was recently posted to Kuresoi but lives in Nakuru’s Kasarani police line.

“Investigations are ongoing and a comprehensive statement will be released,” said the OCPD.

Two of the officers were travelling in the same car with the woman accomplice while a third officer was driving in another car with the kidnap victim in the boot. Two pistols were recovered from the officers.

Due to increased incidences of police officers engaging in crime the OCPD last evening summoned all officers under the division for a crisis meeting.

Sources told The Standard that Kioko ordered that officers who are not on duty should not be allowed to carry arms.

“There will be no carrying of firearms by officers when not on duty. The arms will be surrendered for safe keeping in the armoury,” he said.

Last Friday, the OCPD put police constables Hassan Chesebe and Kawa Lumangati of Milimani police post under arrest after they allegedly colluded with a suspect to share stolen goods and released him. A third officer has not been arrested.

The officers were on patrol on Friday morning when the public handed over the robbery suspect to them together with stolen goods but the officers never took the suspect to station.

When the robbery victim reported at the police station to identify the goods, she was shocked to find that the suspect was missing. Later, some of the stolen goods were found in one of the officer’s house.

On July 28, CID officers in Nakuru arrested traffic police officer Peter Gachie Matiru after he was linked to a highway theft of property worth Sh70 million. Matiru is facing three counts of robbery with violence. He was arrested together with his brother Eliud Waititu and wife Elizabeth Wambui.

In the first count, Matiru is accused of robbing Titus Koech at gunpoint of property worth Sh69 million.

The property included a Sh9 million lorry, which was transporting 1,994 computers worth Sh15.7 million and 1,438 mobile phones worth Sh35 million. The lorry was also carrying assorted garments worth Sh9.7 million.

Further, the officer is accused of violently robbing Abdi Farah Jama of belongings valued at Sh7,700 and Abdishukri Ali Nur Mohamed of personal items worth Sh7,600. He is alleged to have robbed the three motorists at Salgaa along the Nakuru-Eldoret Highway on July 15 this year.

Last month, Nakuru GK Prison Constable Gerald Munyao and Faith Chepkonga Chebii were sentenced to serve 10 years each in prison for robbery with violence and possession of stolen goods.

Munyao and Chepkonga had carjacked a man who was waiting for the gate to his home in Kiamunyi to be opened. Some robbery victims have been complaining that their attackers were in police uniforms and had communication gadgets similar to those used by police.

Zala, a manager with Mediheal Hospital was on July 7 carjacked as he entered his compound at Teachers Estate. Together with his son, who was opening the gate, they were bundled into his car and driven around for three hours as the criminals demanded money. This was the second time he had been carjacked.

Carjacked twice

“They were in police uniforms. They were very composed as they drove me round in circles to make us not remember directions,” he said.

Zala, who was hesitant to have the story done immediately after the incident, has no doubt who carjacked him twice.

“My brother, they are police officers,” he says.

He adds, “After they called using my son’s phone to ask for Sh200,000, I suspect someone may have tipped them that information had circulated that I had been carjacked. A call came on his phone, he left to pick it and immediately they left us.”

He says in the three hours of being driven around, he counted five other motorists being carjacked.

In April, Zala’s colleague was also carjacked in the same style, and he was abandoned after they withdrew money at an ATM.

Oliver Kipruto was also carjacked on the eve of his graduation last November. A gang of five had followed Mr Kipruto, who was driving and while he was parking, they struck.

“They just told us to lie in the boot and drove us around town. They did not look scared at all as they kept on conversing about the next target,” said Kipruto.

He said all along, they kept communicating with another team and updating them on targets they had hit and vice versa.

“They seemed to be very confident that no police officer would get them. They communicate in the open and are very patient,” said the victim.

This was corroborated by another victim, Ms Mitchell Wambui. She was waylaid as a friend dropped her home at Section 58.

“They wore police uniforms and did not look like people running away from police,” said Wambui.

She says the criminals operated in two groups and at some point in her six-hour ordeal the groups met to share the loot.

In an interesting twist, the criminals even stole from each other. As they drove to meet their accomplices, Wambui said the criminals told the victims not to disclose all the money they had taken from them.

“They told us to under-declare the money and phones and other valuables they had taken from us if the other group requested to know from us,” she said.

On April 10, 2015, at around 9a.m., two men in police uniform entered Mary Wanjiru’s M-Pesa shop.

“Since I had no float on my account, I directed them to the next shop but as I turned around to continue counting money, I felt something cold on my neck and a voice in my ear telling me not move an inch. I froze,” she recalls.

Hit hard

Wanjiru, 24, says she was hit hard on the head and that was the last thing she remembers.

“When I regained consciousness, I was lying on the floor and Sh260,000 that was in my open safe was gone. I was robbed by cops,” she says.

In yet another incident, Philip Odhiambo, 31, was stopped by police on “patrol” on the night of January 12, 2015 at around 12.30a.m. as he drove home from a night club along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway.

Odhiambo allowed the two officers in his car, one sat next to him and  the other in the back seat.

“They told me they were going to a police post near St Mary’s Pastoral Centre and that was on my way home so I decided to give them a ride,” he recalls.

After engaging in banter for about five minutes, the officer in the back seat shouted that he stops the car as the one next to him immediately pointed a gun at him.

“I froze and the one behind jumped out and dragged me out of my seat. Then I was hit with the butt of the gun and I became unconscious,” says Odhiambo.

Odhiambo regained consciousness in a hospital bed at 6a.m. in the morning, but he had lost cash, a watch and a mobile phone. His vandalised car was left at the scene of the crime.

In all these cases, the victims said they have never been called to identify suspects.

“The last time I heard from police officers was when I recorded the statement. In fact I have moved on,” said Kipruto.

The OCPD says a few bad officers are tarnishing the name of hardworking ones.

"It is true there are some few bad apples and we are dealing with them without mercy. The officers arrested will face the law,” he said.

He says they have managed to drastically reduce crime in the region.