Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have intensified their investigation into an incident where a female teacher was robbed and killed after withdrawing money from a bank in Mumias town.
The detectives have narrowed down their search to four suspects, among them, two bank officials.
Western Regional Criminal Investigations Officer (RCIO) Njeru Nthiga confirmed that detectives were pursuing other suspects in the gruesome murder of Roselyda Akinyi, even as preliminary investigations pointed towards two bank tellers, a boda boda rider and a bank security guard.
Ms Akinyi, from Budonga village in Navakholo, was attacked and robbed of Sh 285,000 before being killed by unknown people who trailed her after she withdrew the money from a bank in Mumias on April 17, 2025.
There has been a worrying trend in Mumias town where customers who withdraw anything above Sh100, 000 become instant targets of criminals who trail them either by car or a motorcycle and rob them of their money in what now appears to be an organised criminal syndicate involving even the employees of the banks.
Mr Nthiga said the two bank employees who served the teacher are persons of interest following the outcome of the CCTV footage captured by the bank’s security cameras.
“We are not relenting in our pursuit of the people who robbed and killed the teacher. We have crucial leads from the CCTV clips from the bank which are helping us to identify additional suspects,” said Mr Nthiga.
On the radar of the detectives are two other men who were seen on the CCTV camera engaging the bank tellers and the guard in a suspicious manner.
The regional DCI boss elaborated that one of the two suspects pretended to ask for a loan while a second one behaved like he wanted assistance from the security guard claiming he had sent money to the wrong number.
“This was just a time-wasting tactic. They were just buying time as they waited for their target, the lady, to complete her withdrawals,” he added.
He said the CCTV footage showed the two men pacing up and down the banking hall pretending to be on the phone while keeping a close eye on the teacher.
“If they did not participate in the actual attack and killing of the teacher, then there is a role they played in her murder. They will have to direct us to the real killers of the teacher,” he insisted.
Mr Nthiga said detectives were also interrogating the boda boda rider to get some crucial information regarding her death.
“We shall leave no stone unturned until we get the people who trailed and killed the teacher,” he assured.
This comes after members of the two teacher unions in Kakamega County protested the death of the teacher.
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) led protests in Mumias town accusing a section of the staff in two leading banks within the town of colluding with criminals.
The unionists led by Kuppet Kakamega branch Executive Secretary Harrison Otota and Knut Mumias branch Secretary General Cyprian Chibwire also blamed the police and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) for failing to apprehend members of the gang that has been trailing and robbing customers who withdraw huge sums of money from the two banks.
Mr Fredrick Okang’a, Knut chairman in Mumias said the killing of the teacher had opened up the lid of other cases where members of the public have been suffering silently in the hands of the criminal gang that targets bank customers who withdraw huge sums of money.
“As a union, we are concerned about what is eating our teachers and members of the public who move out of the banks after withdrawing money for their own activities. We condemn the heinous activities within Mumias town from the criminal gangs and call upon security agencies to move with speed and uncover the syndicate,” said Mr Okang’a.
The unionists visited Mumias police station where they held a meeting with the sub-county police commander Richard Omanga before they held similar meetings with the managers of the two leading banks in Mumias.
“We visited the police station in Mumias and had a fruitful meeting with the police sub-county commander. We also went to the two banks and the report from the managers is promising. But we asked the banks to extend their CCTV cameras beyond the banking halls. Some cameras should be installed outside the banks to monitor what goes on outside the banking halls,” said Mr Otota.
The unionists threatened to call their members to boycott banking with the two banks if their security would not be improved.
Mr Otota said the increasing cases are pointing to potential shortcomings in the way the very institutions that are expected to safeguard against fraud and misconduct are, ironically, fuelling crime.
Mr Johnston Wabuti, the Kuppet chairman in Kakamega challenged the police to increase patrols within Mumias to deter increasing criminal activities witnessed in the town.
“We realised there is a security lapse within Mumias town. There is no presence of police officers apart from those manning the banks. Criminals are operating at will and moving on scots-free,” noted Mr Wabuti.
He questioned why a white Probox vehicle has been mentioned in financial crimes within Mumias for years without the security agencies taking action.
Mr Cyprian Omukani, the Knut Secretary General, eulogised the teacher as a young and vibrant teacher who was stretching beyond the salary she is paid as a teacher to lead a decent life.
“She has been running a banking agent and Mpesa shops and doing other businesses to supplement the meagre salary she gets as a teacher. It is so painful that she had to be killed by the people who had robbed her of her money,” he said.
A post-mortem report indicated that Ms Akinyi died from excessive bleeding after she was stabbed with a knife that raptured her lungs.
Mr Nthiga said the report had confirmed that the teacher was not killed by a firearm but a sharp, long knife which went through her chest and cut the right aorta.
He said: "She died from excessive bleeding from a sharp and long knife which went through the left side of the chest and raptured her right aorta of the heart.”
