Police have arrested four suspects believed to be members of an armed gang linked to a series of violent robberies and killings in Migori County.
The gang is suspected of carrying out multiple attacks across Kuria West Sub-County, targeting businesses, individuals and homes in nighttime raids that often left victims seriously injured or dead.
One of the most violent incidents occurred in Kehancha Chini, where four armed men stormed a home occupied by two brothers, one of whom was a businessman involved in the gold trade between Kenya and Tanzania.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, one of the attackers was armed with an assault rifle, while the others carried crude weapons.
The gang reportedly ordered the victims to surrender their valuables before stealing Sh20 million belonging to the 23-year-old businessman.
One of the assailants shot the businessman through the mouth, killing him instantly, before the gang fled.
Police officers from Kehancha Police Station, working with detectives from the DCI, responded to the scene, documented evidence, and transferred the body to Kehancha Sub-County Hospital mortuary pending a post-mortem examination.
Investigations later linked the same gang to a series of violent robberies across Kuria West.
On November 3, 2025, the suspects raided the home of a Namba Five area resident at about 9.45 pm.
The victim’s sister-in-law had stepped outside to fetch water and encountered the gang. When the homeowner went outside to investigate, the attackers ordered him to lie down and assaulted him with the blunt sides of pangas.
They then entered the house, robbing his mother and sister-in-law of Sh3,000 and Sh49,000 respectively, before fleeing on a waiting motorcycle.
Days later, on November 7, 2025, the gang attacked a soldier at his home. Armed with an AK-47 rifle, pangas, and heavy clubs, the suspects fired several shots into the air before assaulting the officer and his wife while demanding money and gold.
They stole Sh10,000, a mobile phone, and the soldier’s Kenya Defence Forces identification card. Both victims sustained serious injuries.
On November 10, 2025, the gang struck an M-Pesa shop in the Kobinto area. They robbed the shop owner of Sh28,000 and a mobile phone, and fatally shot a customer in the chest. The owner escaped through a back door.
Another fatal shooting occurred on January 20, 2026, near Nyaigutu Primary School. A 30-year-old man walking home from a funeral night vigil was confronted by three men, one armed with a rifle and the others with pangas. The gunman shot him in the head, chest, and legs, killing him instantly.
Mourners attending a nearby vigil pursued the suspects as they fled on a motorcycle. One suspect was captured and fatally beaten by the mob, while the others escaped.
Investigators later used ballistic analysis and technological evidence to link several attacks to the same criminal network.
A breakthrough came on March 5, 2026, when detectives launched an intelligence-led operation that led to the arrest of four suspects believed to be behind the attacks.
The suspects were arraigned before the Senior Principal Magistrate’s Court in Kehancha, where detectives sought custodial orders to complete investigations.
The court granted 10 days for investigators to finalise the probe and formally charge the suspects.
They remain in custody at Kehancha Police Station and are expected back in court on March 18, 2026, as investigations continue.
