A police officer accused of several violent robbery incidents in Kisii County is in custody after he was rescued from an angry mob that cornered and attacked him.
Constable Edgar Opollo, a General Service Unit officer, is accused of robbing a Kisii University student of a smartphone on February 3 after which an irate mob beat him.
He was rescued by his colleagues on patrol.
“On inquiry, the officers established that the suspect had robbed a smartphone from a Kisii University student, and on frisking the injured suspect found the phone. He was arrested and escorted to the station,” said the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in a statement on Tuesday.
The constable is also linked to an armed gang that robbed a local supermarket of Ksh.40,000 on January 2.
Detectives say the incident was captured on CCTV showing three robbers who had partly covered their faces, two of whom were armed, one with an AK47 rifle and the other with a pistol.
“The rifle bearer had police fatigues on, but it was not apparent that he was a police officer. Following Opollo’s arrest, an identification parade was conducted where the supermarket owner successfully identified him as one of the robbers who accosted him,” the DCI said.
Police are still searching for the two others.
The GSU officer is recuperating under police guard at a Kisii hospital pending interrogation and arraignment. He will be charged with robbery with violence, the investigative agency added.
