A Nakuru court has ordered six individuals suspected of involvement in the fatal shooting of a police officer to be detained for 30 days as investigations continue into the growing wave of violent crime in the region.
The six suspects, John Njau Ndungu, Chacha Peter Marwa, William Nyahili Rioba, Emmanuel Muita Muita, Nyahili Nyamuhaga Magige, and Catherine Nkatha Zakayo, were presented before Principal Magistrate Vincent Adet on Tuesday. Although they were not formally charged, the court granted a police request to hold them to allow time for crucial investigative procedures, including ballistic tests, witness statements, identification parades, and mental assessments.
The suspects are linked to the ambush that left a police officer dead and two others injured on Sunday night during a patrol in Nakuru’s Freehold area. Following their arrest, police say the suspects led investigators to the location of an AK-47 rifle believed to have been used in the officer’s killing.
Authorities also recovered four mobile phones, assorted SIM cards, bus tickets, and a motorcycle during the arrests, according to an earlier report from Bondeni Police Station.
In a related development, police on Monday arrested a sixth suspect, Elijah Kimani Kinyanjui, at the Mzee wa Nyama area. Kinyanjui was reportedly found in possession of items recently stolen during an armed robbery and is expected to be charged alongside the other five suspects.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) revealed that the gang is also believed to be behind several other violent incidents across Nakuru County, including a brutal robbery in the Soilo area where a 24-year-old shopkeeper was killed after being attacked with machetes and daggers.
The crackdown, led by DCI’s Operation Action Team in collaboration with Nakuru police, is part of an intensified effort to dismantle armed gangs terrorising residents in recent weeks.
Investigations into the incidents are ongoing.
Written By Rodney Mbua
