Who will protect us? Worrying trend as police, military officers join criminal gangs

As the family of retired National Hospital Insurance Fund employee Eliud Lang’at was having dinner at their home in Olenguruone on September 14, a gang was assaulting the security guard, ordering him to open the gate.

Soon, he was attacked by the nine armed men wearing balaclavas, who then proceeded to tie him up.

While in the house rummaging through every room for valuables, neighbours — alerted by the commotion — arrived with bows and arrows, ready to confront the robbers.

PISTOL MAGAZINE

The suspects, sensing danger, escaped through the fence and Mr Langat’s family contacted the nearby police station for help. When police arrived at the scene, they found a magazine of a pistol, with 15 bullets.

Ballistic examinations revealed that it was a Jericho pistol — Serial No. 45302066 — which was later found to have been assigned to Police Constable Arthur Murithi of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, in Molo.

Flying Squad detectives traced Constable Murithi and arrested him together with Administration Police Constable Felix Korir, who worked as a police driver in Kamara Divisional Headquarters.

ILLEGAL FIREARMS

Further investigations facilitated the arrest of seven civilians and two other police officers — one attached to Kamara and the other to Mau Summit. The 11 were later arraigned in court charged with robbery with violence.

The civilians were identified as Mr Patrick Kimani Ndungu, Mr Cosmus Kipkurui Koech, Mr John Muthama Gathecha, Mr Douglas Kiplangat Kirui, Mr Samuel Gagiri Nderitu, Mr Benard Kipkorir Cheruyiot and Mr Geoffrey Cheruyiot Terer.

A day before that in Nanyuki, police apprehended two Kenya Defence Forces soldiers as they transported illegal firearms and ammunition from Isiolo to Nairobi.

FOREIGN PASSPORTS

Laikipia East OCPD Kizito Mutoro said the two were found with 750 special rounds of ammunition used in AK-47 rifles, a Walther CP88 German pistol without a magazine, seven spent cartridges of 9mm calibre, seven sachets of heroin, 23 rolls of bhang, two Kenyan identity cards and two Somalia passports.

Four days later, two police officers were arrested in Nairobi after robbing a Malian, Bathily Abdoulaye, after ransacking his house in Kilimani and taking goods and cash worth Sh5.3 million.

Mr Abdoulaye reported that four people who identified themselves as police officers went to his residence and arrested him.

ROLEX WATCHES

Flying Squad officers laid an ambush at Yaya Centre and managed to arrest a suspect, who led officers to Central Police Station where Constable Kelvin Ndosi (No 88724) was arrested.

“In the process of the arrest the officers ransacked his house and took the following items: US$8,000, Sh83,000, three Rolex watches each valued at US$15,000, his passport and also transferred Sh30,000 from his mobile phone number to another mobile phone number,” the DCI said on Twitter.

Constable Ndosi and his colleague Moses Njogu Njagi were both charged on September 26.

They denied the charges before Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi and are out on a bond of Sh500,000 and alternative cash bail of Sh200,000.

SH300,000 RANSOM

But even before the conclusion of the case, Constable Ndosi was arrested in Nairobi last Sunday for abduction and robbery with violence.

The officer was arrested with another officer — Constable Johnson Munene of Parliament Police Station — whose official firearm was used by Constable Ndosi during the carjacking of a businessman at the Delta Petrol Station in Athi River before demanding a Sh300,000 ransom.

Flying Squad Commandant Musa Yego said officers were still in pursuit of five other police officers and civilians who have been working with the two to rob members of the public while pretending to be detectives from the squad.

NIS OFFICER

The same day Constable Ndosi was arrested, a National Intelligence Service (NIS) officer, Abdi Ibrahim Alio, based in Wajir, was arrested alongside three other people and heroin, 23 rolls of bhang and a pistol were recovered.

On Tuesday, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations revealed that they had arrested five people, among them a university student and a Kenya Defence Forces serviceman, for abduction in Eastleigh.

Detectives rescued three victims of the gang, from whom they demanded a ransom of Sh5,000 each, according to a report shared on the DCI’s social media pages.

“The soldier, No95592 Private Mohamed Sharmake Abdi of Kahawa Barracks; Abdi Hamid Mohamed Abdi, a student at the Kenya Methodist University; Mr Abdikalif Mohammed Noor; Ahmed Abdullahi Abdi; and Salah Abdi will be arraigned in court today,” the DCI said in the statement.

HIRING OUT GUNS

Several other cases of police officers, Kenya Defence Forces soldiers and other members of the disciplined forces being involved in crimes including robbery, murder, drug trafficking, trade in ivory and hiring out guns to criminals have been reported.

The trend has prompted the Independent Policing Oversight Authority to initiate a process that is looking into the involvement of police in crime as a topical issue.

In February, a detective in charge of the police armoury in Kiambu County was arrested and charged after it was discovered that he hired out firearms to criminals.

The officer disappeared after a pistol was recovered from a gangster following a shoot-out with police officers in Nairobi’s Industrial Area on January 19.

FOUND CULPABLE

Kenya Police spokesperson Maxwell Agoro said officers take individual responsibility for crimes and misconduct if they are found culpable.

“If a crime is one that directly involves the officer, he is arrested just like any other Kenyan and arraigned in court with authority from the Attorney-General,” Mr Agoro said.

He said if the matter requires investigations, an inquiry file is usually opened and investigations initiated with the aim of taking disciplinary action against the officer if he is guilty.

“Once any complaint is reported pertaining to an officer, the most immediate thing to do is to interdict them pending determination of their case,” he said. According to the National Police Service Act 2011, an officer may be reprimanded, suspended, salary stopped, demoted in rank or dismissed if the officer empowered to investigate is satisfied that the offence by the accused police officer has been proved.