Suspect lynched in Kisumu as gun and stolen items recovered

Nyanza police chief Willy Lugusa (right) and Kisumu County Commander Nelson Njiri display some of the items recovered from a house in Riat, Kisumu, Friday.

KISUMU: A suspected robber was killed, three arrested and a firearm recovered along with stolen household goods, after police raided a house in Bandani Riat area in Kisumu.

In addition to the firearm, an AK47 rifle, there were five bullets. Yesterday, Nyanza Regional Police Coordinator Willy Lugusa said they got a tip-off from the public, who were suspicious of some tenants in the area.

Police officers then laid an ambush on Thursday and arrested three suspects, while one who fled was lynched when residents caught up with him.

“It was only through cooperation with the public that we managed to arrest the culprits and recover the stolen items. This should continue for us to nab all wanted criminals,” said Mr Lugusa.

He said the police had information on other criminals and were on their trail.

STREET LIGHTS

“I want to ask criminals in Kisumu to surrender, get saved or flee to other regions because we won’t relent on the war against crime,” said Lugusa.

Also recovered were metal cutters, which the suspected criminals allegedly used to break into homes.

Due to the street lighting project initiated in various parts of Kisumu, the police boss said, most robbers had resorted to raiding homes in the outskirts of Kisumu, in areas such as Kanyamedha, Riat and Kibos, which are not well lit.

The suspects are said to be part of a gang terrorising residents especially wealthy ones having palatial homes in the outskirts of Kisumu, Riat, Mamboleo, Ahero, Kanyakwar and Migosi estates.

Some of these areas also have thickets, in which the criminals hide.

Among the recovered items were CCTV cameras, which Lugusa said were taken to conceal any evidence that might link the robbers to the scene of crime.

Tens of residents flocked to Kisumu Central Police Station to view the recovered items, mostly electronics, hoping to recover their missing property.

One of them was Agnetta Obuba, who said she was robbed in Luanda after being trailed from the time she left a bank in Kisumu on October 19.

“On reaching Luanda, three people, among them a woman, asked me to give them the money I had withdrawn from Cooperative Bank in Kisumu,” she said.

She also lost her digital camera, work documents and two mobile phones.

Obuba, however, said two of her attackers are in custody while the third is still at large and has been sending her threatening text messages.

Six days ago, a notorious carjacker who had been terrorising residents, was shot dead by the police and a home-made pistol recovered from him.

The deceased was also known for kidnapping people and forcing them to withdraw money from various ATMs in town. His photo had been circulated to make it easier for the public to alert the police on his whereabouts.