Police seize military uniforms from a house in Pangani estate, Nakuru

Uniforms recovered from the house in Pangani estate, Nakuru. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Police in Nakuru have recovered a consignment of police uniforms and military gear from a house in Pangani estate in Bondeni area.

According to Nakuru county police boss Peter Mwanzo, the private home where the uniforms were seized is not an installation of security maintenance, which prompted a member of the public to alert officers.

The items include jungle uniforms, ground sheets, police caps and ammo carriers.

“We were alerted by a member of the public about the uniforms. A young man was seen bringing the items to his house. From what we have gathered so far, the guy is a loner and doesn't even communicate much with his family. His family doesn't know what he does,” said Mwanzo.

Police invited military officers from Lanet barracks who identified some of the items as belonging to the army.

“We are currently pursuing the young man responsible to explain his motive. However, there is no doubt that the suspect intended to terrorize the residents,” said Mwanzo.

The police boss noted that there have been previous cases of people in military uniform committing crimes, making it hard for officers to track the suspects. Whenever they come to the police station, there are no such officers in the identification parade.

“We suspect that these are the clothes used by the criminals. We will continue with the crackdown to ensure Nakuru remains safe,” said Mwanzo.

Meanwhile, another suspect linked to the brutal killings of women in Mawanga has been arrested.

Homicide detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Nakuru apprehended one Kelvin Otieno Omondi, alias Fredrick Okoth Odongo, in Mayanja, Bungoma County on Saturday.

Nakuru County Criminal Investigation Officer (CCIO) Anthony Sunguti said the suspect’s movement and mobile phone analysis placed him at the scenes of the brutal crimes that happened last month.

“Investigations on his movements and an analysis of his phone placed him at the center of the horrible murders.

He had, however, escaped to Bungoma County when the police launched a manhunt for the suspects,” Sunguti told The Standard.