How police officers allegedly supplied guns, bullets to bandits

Some of the government weapons that were allegedly supplied by State officers to bandits. [Courtesy/DCI] They are the men entrusted with State armouries, yet investigators now claim they may have turned government weapons into a lifeline for bandits terrorising the North Rift. On Monday, six serving officers were paraded before Milimani Law Courts, accused of fuelling the very insecurity they were sworn to fight. The officers were, however, not charged after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) asked Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi to allow their detention for 14 days to complete investigations into what detectives describe as a dangerous network supplying ammunition to criminal gangs in Turkana and the Kenya-Sudan border. The suspects, prison warder Charles Lotira Ekidor and police officers Ileli Cyrus Kisamwa, Samson Muriithi Mutongu, Wesley Sang and Paul Kipketer Tonui, were arrested over the weekend in coordinated raids in Nairobi and Eldoret, where a pistol, over 10 assorted magazines, and ammunition were recovered. The five officers' arrests followed the dramatic interception of Corporal Isaac Kipngetich, Turkana County's armoury officer, on Thursday last week, who was stopped on Uhuru Highway ferrying 1,007 rounds of ammunition in a small Toyota Passo. Law enforcement officers suspected of being behind an illegal arms and ammunition trade. [Courtesy/DCI] "The ammunitions were believed to be on transit to be used in the commission of crimes such as murder, maiming, and banditry within Turkana County and other adjacent counties where innocent lives have been lost, people displaced, and livestock stolen," Corporal Hillary Kimuyu, the investigating officer, told the court. For years, pastoralist families in the North Rift have borne the brunt of heavily armed bandits, lives lost, children orphaned, villages razed, and herds stolen. Yesterday's revelations struck a deeper nerve: that uniformed officers themselves may have been feeding the bloodshed. Law enforcement officers suspected of being behind an illegal arms and ammunition trade. [Courtesy/DCI] According to an affidavit filed by a DCI detective, searches allegedly linked the suspects to a pistol, nineteen assorted magazines, and ammunition traced back to official armouries. According to Kimuyu, the investigating officer, the arrests and recoveries followed intelligence reports linking the officers to an underground network supplying ammunition to criminal gangs in the North Rift. "Upon arrest and subsequent searches, officers recovered one firearm, a Remington Rand pistol, model No. 1911, serial number 1364434, nineteen assorted magazines, and ammunition believed to be linked to illicit trafficking," Kimuyu said. Detectives told the court that the five suspects are being investigated for possession of ammunition without a certificate, possession of government stores, and conspiracy to commit a felony.Preliminary investigations have allegedly exposed a firearms trafficking syndicate involving both police and prison officers, with detectives detailing the specific roles each is suspected to have played. The court heard that officers Kisamwa and Mutongu, who are attached to the Nairobi Central Police armoury, were responsible for ferrying ammunition from government stores in the city where both are attached.Ekidor, a prison officer, was to receive and ferry the consignment to Lodwar for sale and redistribution. "Intelligence further connects the first respondent, Ekidor, to the sale of ammunition at Lokichogio market, near the Kenya-South Sudan border," Kimuyu states in his affidavit. The DCI further alleged that Sang and Tonui were custodians of the keys to the store where the pistol, magazines, and other ammunition had been kept. "The fourth and fifth respondents, Sang and Tonui, are custodians of the keys to the store where the recovered ammunition had been kept," Officer Kimuyu added. The DCI revealed that Kipngetich, who was arrested ferrying over 1,000 rounds of ammunition, had been on annual leave from 23 September to 11 November 2025, and therefore had no authority to be in possession of government-issued ammunition. The court heard that the ammunition recovered from Kipngetich was concealed in a sealed carton inside a black backpack, and the cache was destined for criminal use in banditry-prone areas. Kimuyu warned that the suspects, being serving officers in positions of authority, posed a serious risk if released on bond, noting they could contact and intimidate potential witnesses, including civilian traders in Turkana and fellow officers. "I oppose their release as they may interfere with yet-to-be-recovered exhibits stored in official armouries, frustrate ongoing tracing of accomplices, some of whom are their juniors or associates," he told the court. He added that the matter touches directly on national security given ongoing banditry and proliferation of small arms in the North Rift. "The nature of these offences directly touches on national security. The North Rift region is presently volatile due to banditry and proliferation of small arms. The respondents' continued involvement poses an immediate threat to public safety," Kimuyu submitted. The DCI has also hinted that additional charges, including robbery with violence and murder, could be preferred once investigations are concluded. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) backed the DCI's request, citing cross-border risks and ongoing forensic work. "Due to the cross-border nature of this trafficking, there is a substantial risk of flight. The first respondent, Ekidor, has direct links with Lokichogio market, which straddles the Kenya-Sudan border, making it easy to abscond if released," the prosecution argued. Further, the prosecution told the court that investigations remain at a delicate but advanced stage, requiring additional time to conduct ballistic analysis on the recovered firearm and magazines. "We also seek more time to allow DCI detectives to conduct digital and cyber forensics on mobile phones seized from the respondents, trace and arrest additional suspects in Turkana and Nairobi, which requires coordination with field units," the prosecutor submitted. The court further heard that investigators need to secure documentary evidence from police and prison armouries regarding the issuance of the seized ammunition and magazines. Defence lawyers Danstan Omari and Cliff Ombeta urged the court to reject the DCI's bid, insisting that the five officers are not flight risks and can be traced easily. Omari, who represents officer Tonui, the fourth respondent, told the court that the officers are well-known members of the disciplined services with established residences and families, making it unreasonable to claim they might abscond. "Tonui is a Chief Inspector and an armourer. His work is to repair defective firearms across the country that cannot fire. He is simply a mechanic and has never, at any time, been entrusted with a live firearm," Omari told the court. They contended that the prosecution could impose stringent bond terms instead of subjecting him and co-suspects to prolonged detention. "These are not shadowy figures hiding in dark corners; they are officers of the law with fixed abodes, known to their colleagues and the community. If the state genuinely has evidence, let them bring charges, but don't punish them through unlawful detention," the defence team argued. The magistrate is expected to rule on whether to detain the six officers for two more weeks.

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