How I saved my father from a gun man- Brave class eight Kisumu girl

A teenage girl whose quick thinking and action saved her family from a gun-toting robber has explained how she managed to disarm the criminal.

Elizabeth Achieng’, 15, said yesterday that she was in the house when she heard her younger sister shouting that there was an intruder in their home.

“When my sister raised the alarm about a strange man in the corridor, my father responded by moving to the door but when he saw the man with the gun, he lost his strength. I knew we were in danger,” said Achieng’.

She said the gunman trained his gun on her father and commanded him to lie down.

Achieng’, a Standard Eight pupil at Simba Gero Primary School, said she immediately knew that her father’s life was in grave danger — and that she was the only person who could save him.

As the man pointed the gun at her father, she ran and hid behind the open door. It is from there that, in a fraction of a second, she devised the grand strategy that put her family out of harm’s way.

Moved steadily

“Like a ghost, I slowly and steadily moved along the wall towards the man, ensuring that he did not see me. I looked at my helpless father lying down and before they noticed me, I knocked the man’s hand and the gun dropped,” said Achieng’.

Incredibly, she had only her bare hands with which to tackle him.

Achieng’ said she knew she would be dead in the twinkling of an eye if the gunman noticed her movements, but added that she was ready to die to save her father.

When the gun fell, her father Jacob Orende, who had already surrendered, sprang to his feet and grabbed the gun. With the help of his daughter, he fought off the lone robber.

Overpowered, the scared criminal disappeared into the darkness, minus his gun, with his ‘enemies’ hot in pursuit.

After pursuing him in vain, a shaken Mr Orende informed the local administration and quickly buried the firearm outside his compound, fearing the man would return for it before the police arrived.

But where did a young, spindly girl find the courage and energy to tackle an armed robber?

Achieng’ said the secret was in the self-defence skills she learnt in Girl Guides Club in school.

She became a guide in her lower primary school years.

When The Standard caught up with her at her Kaila village home in Seme yesterday, the soft-spoken Achieng’ was surrounded by locals who listened keenly while she narrated how she outwitted the criminal.

In danger

“I knew we were in danger, and my father was the target so I decided it was either me or my father to die. And my mission paid off,” she told them, smiling.

The staunch Catholic said she wouldn’t mind becoming a nun, after she was “influenced by my teacher”.

But her heart is in the police force. Achieng’ says she would like to be a police officer to protect her family and the entire nation.

As her father is a long-distance truck driver who is rarely home, Achieng lives with her mother. Her three brothers live in Mombasa and Nairobi.

“This means I am always here to play the role of a man. I have never been afraid of going outside the house even at night,” she said.

Orende, who never in his wildest imagination considered that his daughter could save his life, was full of praise for her daring actions.

“I did not know she was timing the man. But what I do know about my daughter is that she has always been strong, swift and brave. I wouldn’t stop her from joining the (disciplined) forces,” the father said.