Two police officers among suspects shot dead in botched robberies in Nairobi

Two police officers are among four suspects who were at the weekend shot dead in botched robberies in Nairobi.

The officers were in civilian clothes and armed at the time they were separately gunned down by their colleagues on Friday and Saturday.

The first incident happened in Ruaka, Kiambu County where a police officer was killed alongside a taxi driver in an ambush by police officers.

Police claimed they were planning to commit a robbery at Ruaka Court Yard.

Authorities say that the suspects were targeting to rob a house where two Nigerians live when the officers ambushed them leading to a deadly shooting.

Police said they recovered a government registered Jericho pistol which had 10 rounds of ammunition.

Police also towed a car to Kiambaa police station that they suspect was used by the robbers.

A second police officer was killed in downtown Nairobi at the junction of Mwatate/Ukwala where pedestrians had complained of ongoing robbery.

Police responded to the scene and managed to kill one officer and a civilian and recovered a government registered Ceska pistol that had 12 bullets and a police certificate of appointment.

The incident happened on Saturday at 2 am and the officer was in civilian clothes then. It is not clear why the officer was in civilian attire.

The incident comes at a time when the police service is keen on dealing with increased crime perpetuated by armed officers.

The National Police Service has since rolled out new operational changes to address cases where police are involved in crime.

Inspector-General of Police Hilary Mutyambai announced no officer will be allowed to be in plain clothes while on official duty.

A special squad known as SPIV was disbanded and officers who have been operating in it ordered to start wearing uniforms. The officers have been operating in major urban areas and wore plain clothes while on duty.

Investigations revealed some officers deployed as undercover officers, commonly referred to as ‘SPIV’, were involved in criminal activities.

Deputy Inspector General Edward Mbugua rolled out the new rules and ordered no police officer will be allowed to retain a firearm while off duty.

Officers will be required to surrender their weapons with the armory at their respective stations before leaving.

There is also planned zoning of Nairobi under an officer of the rank of Commissioner of Police (CP) to complement the efforts of the Regional Commander.

Also planned is an induction and refresher courses for more than 20,000 officers from next month. Most of the targeted officers are those who have not gone for such courses and recently joined the Kenya Police Service.

The move comes in the wake of increased cases where police officers are involved in crime. More than 600 cases involving police officers have been reported in the past one year alone in alarming rate.

Data shows at least 100 police officers have been arrested over the last eight months for offences including murder, robberies, kidnapping, extortion, gunrunning and drug trafficking, among other serious crimes.

Most of these cases are under investigation by police, Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and Internal Affairs Unit (IAU).