Following a raid at a business in Soy, Uasin Gishu county, on Saturday night, police shot and injured a robbery suspect.
The suspect, according to a statement released by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on November 20th, was a member of a machete-wielding gang of five people that stormed the Sabugo gas cylinder business at around 2:00 in the morning.
A neighbor who witnessed the gang break into the store in the middle of the night called the police while they were on patrol about the event.
“Around 2am, the patrolling officers learned that a group of criminals had broken into a Sabugo store and were about to flee with the gas cylinders that were kept inside.
“At around two in the morning, the patrolling officers learned that a group of criminals had broken into a Sabugo store and were preparing to flee with gas cylinders that were kept inside.
DCI stated: “The informant told the detectives that terrible thuds of falling objects had rudely interrupted his sleep, which at first he thought were the regular sounds of scuffling hooves from his unruly bull.”
Police said that when they arrived, the cops gave the thieves who had barricaded themselves in the store orders to leave, but they disobeyed, causing the policemen to push the door in an effort to get it open.
The robbers apparently shoved the door from inside in retaliation, starting a push-and-pull fight that lasted for a few minutes before the police were able to subdue the attackers.
The officers then got into a fight while attempting to apprehend the suspects who were running out the store into the night.
Two of the suspects are alleged to have used machetes to attack the officers during the ensuing melee. As a result, one of the officers is believed to have fired shots at the thugs, immobilizing one of them.
As the search for his accomplices goes on, the injured suspect is currently being treated at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) under 24-hour guard.
The most recent incident occurs during an ongoing operation in Eldoret town in response to hawker-related rioting that resulted in extensive business property looting.
On November 17, locals were captured on camera bursting into commercial spaces, including a supermarket, as merchants engaged askaris from Uasin Gishu county in running bouts. These videos quickly went viral on social media.
In the current crackdown to apprehend the looters, at least 40 people have been detained.
County commissioner Dr. Edisson Nyale, who is in charge of the security operation, said: “We will have to return sanity to this town and that is why we are determined to deal with the gangs as per the law and also bring to justice those involved in the looting.”
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