A brave shopkeeper has been admitted in hospital in critical condition after he sustained injuries after he fought off three armed robbers and managed to disarm them of the firearm in Korogocho Nairobi on Sunday.
The gangsters are reported to have stormed the shop while wielding an AK47 rifle. The firearm (serial number KP 60034486, loaded with 9 rounds of ammunition) was later found to belong to the Kenya Police Service.
According to the police, the three-man gang, one armed with an AK47 rifle and others with crude weapons, raided Highridge area of Korogocho around 11pm before they started robbing shop owners in the area.
One of the victims was robbed of Sh15,000 while another one lost Sh28,000, a mobile phone and a wristwatch.
The gangsters then proceeded to the next shop but the shopkeeper resisted, resulting in a fierce fight. The shopkeeper sustained multiple stab wounds but managed to disarm the three of the rifle.
The police have said the incident will be investigated internally to establish the identity of the robbers and the circumstances surrounding the loss of the firearm. Police are also seeking to establish the last person to have been issued the said weapon.
Last week, four rifles and a total of 110 rounds of ammunition were reported missing from Griftu Police Station armoury in Wajir West Sub-County.
Three AK47 rifles, one G3 rifle, 90 rounds of ammunition used in AK47 rifles and another 20 rounds of ammunition for G3 rifles were found missing but the armoury was not broken into. As a result, the OCS Griftu and the amourer were arrested as investigations continue.
In another incident on June 13, four robbery suspects were shot dead at Mkwajuni along Mombasa-Kilifi road and one of the AK47 rifles that was robbed of officers during the July 2021 Equity Matuu Branch raid recovered.
One of the slain suspects, Festus Mutisya Kaloki alias Kamwana, had recently been released on bond from court where he was charged with several counts of robbery, including robbery at Economy Way Supermarket at Manoni, Kiembeni on February 26 this year.
The AK47 rifle, serial number KE KP 5527115, was recovered and loaded with 7 rounds of ammunition.
The rifle is one of the firearms that was stolen on July 27, 2022 when five armed men raided Equity Bank after they disarmed Constable Patrick Omusebe and Constable Dorothy Opili of their rifles both loaded with a total of 60 rounds of ammunition.
The DCI said the recovered weapon belonged to Constable Opili.
