Detectives have arrested a suspect in connection to a gun that was stolen at a car wash in Hurligham, a Nairobi suburb.
The owner of the weapon who is a civilian firearm holder told police that he had taken his car to be washed but when he returned he found his pistol, which was loaded with 15 bullets, missing.
Police officers who were called to the scene reviewed security cameras in the yard, which captured an attendant taking the pistol from the car and concealing it under an overall he was wearing.
He later walked out of the gate while wearing the overall contrary to the rules.
“Attendants there are supposed to remove and leave their overalls when signing off or leaving the yard,” the management said.
The suspect failed to report to work the following day as police searched for him.
Police later traced and arrested him along Loita Street in the Central Business District (CBD) where police believe he planned to hand over the weapon to an accomplice.
“The suspect had reportedly sold seven bullets from the pistol. When it went missing, it had 15 bullets but when it was recovered it had eight,” police said.
The police say the safekeeping of such weapons is key to a civilian being granted a permit to own a gun.
The rules state that weapons should be kept in the owner’s sight at all times, or in a safe in the house.
Nairobi police boss Adamson Bungei said the law is clear on handling of weapons whether by police officers or licensed gun holders.
“The law says the weapon should be in the physical presence of the holder. That means on the waist or in a safe in the house. Keeping a weapon in the car in the holder’s absence is contrary to the law,” he said.
