Police kill 5 suspected gangsters in Kakamega shootout
Members of the public and police officers are seen at the scene of the killing of five suspected gangsters on Kakamega-Kisumu road on May 18, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Mr Chesire said the suspected gangsters were headed towards Chavakali from Kakamega town and that they engaged police officers in a shootout after defying an order to stop.
Five robbery suspects were on Tuesday shot dead by officers from the Special Crimes Unit near Makohokho trading centre along Kakamega-Kisumu road.
Two Ceska pistols and some bullets, a pair of police uniforms and several mobile phones were recovered from the vehicle the five had been using.
Kakamega South Sub-county Police Commander Joseph Chesire said the officers had trailed the suspects for hours before intercepting their Toyota saloon car.
Some of the items police found in a car used by five suspected gangster after shooting and killing them on Kakamega-Kisumu road on May 18, 2021.
Mr Chesire said the suspected gangsters were headed towards Chavakali from Kakamega town and that they engaged police officers in a shootout after defying an order to stop.
The bullet-riddled vehicle was pictured by the road next to bodies of two of the suspects.
The other three suspects were shot as they attempted to flee from the vehicle on the opposite side of the road.
The 2pm incident caused a traffic snarl-up along the busy road as police officers struggled to control the large crowd at the scene.
Mr Chesire said the suspects were linked to an armed gang which has been trailing traders and robbing them of large sums of money after withdrawals from banks.
“The suspects had been involved in a series of robberies in the western region,” he said.
“Our officers had been monitoring the activities of the gang for a while. When they were ordered to stop, they opened fire,” he said.
