• On Tuesday night, a woman M-Pesa attendant was shot dead and an undetermined amount of money stolen from her Marikiti shop
• Haki Africa, Sisters for Justice and Usawa Institute launch weapons recovery operation in Kisauni.
A spike in criminal activities in Mombasa should not be associated with a lost police gun, county security commander Augustine Nthumbi has said.
Some of the crimes were committed before the AK-47 rifle was lost in Nyali two weeks ago, he said.
Nthumbi, who spoke on Friday during a procession to mark World Social Justice day, was responding to Haki Africa's claim that the missing gun may be the one used in three separate crimes in Mombasa.
Haki Africa rapid respond officer Mathias Shipeta said: “We have information that AK-47 gun was stolen in Nyali and the reports we have gathered following the three incident indicate that an AK-47 gun was involved.”
Nthumbi said the gun was not stolen from Nyali police station. He did not elaborate.
On Tuesday night, a woman M-Pesa attendant was shot dead and an undetermined amount of money stolen from her Marikiti shop in Karama, Nyali.
Police said she was attacked by two men who escaped on a motorcycle.
Another M-Pesa attendant is at Coast General Hospital's ICU where he was taken after he was shot in the stomach on Sunday night.
Her 11-year-old child is also being treated for injuries suffered when robbers attacked them in Kisauni. The amount stolen was not disclosed.
Last month, a Kenya Ports Authority accountant was shot dead at the Dock Workers Union Makupa office gate and Sh1.5 million workers' pay stolen.
Samwel Kinanga was shot in the stomach. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Coast General Hospital. A colleague was shot in the leg.
The incident happened after they had withdrawn money from the Nkrumah Road branch of Absa Bank.
Nthumbi said nobody had been arrested in connection with the incidents.
“The first incident occurred when the officer had not lost a gun. Any reports linking the gun to the incident is false,” he said.
Lobby groups Haki Africa, Sisters for Justice and Usawa Institute for Land and Human Rights want the police to stop criminal activities in the county.
They on Wednesday launched a weapons recovery operation targeting youths involved in crime in Kisauni. They collected five pangas.
FACTFILE
- January 22, 2020: Four robbers fired twice in the air near a shop in Chaani, Changamwe before stealing Sh12,000.
- Three people killed in Mombasa in the past three weeks and money stolen from them.
- In December 2019: A police officer guarding Deputy President William Ruto’s Mombasa residence loses a gun in unclear circumstances.
- A Special Crime Prevention Unit police officer based at Central Police Station loses a Ceska pistol loaded with 15 bullets.
- February 21: Mombasa county commander Augustine Nthumbi confirms that a gun was lost at Nyali police station early February but denies it was used in the crime.
- November 2019: Man was shot dead trying to snatch a gun from a police officer manning a bank at Bondeni.
- In 2015, police constable Simon Lochodo was killed by a gang and his G3 rifle stolen while guarding Gulf African Bank at Bondeni.