• Thugs armed with guns use motorbikes at night to rob residents.
• A former Nyalenda MCA and a woman were robbed separately at gunpoint.
Image: MAURICE ALAL
Police in Kisumu have arrested four suspects in connection with a spate of robberies in which thugs on motorcycles have been terrorising residents.
County police commander Benson Maweu on Tuesday said the cases are being investigated. He asked robbery victims to give police information that will help in investigations.
In the latest attacks, a former MCA and a woman were robbed of their phones and cash at gunpoint.
Thieves on Friday night raided the home of former Nyalenda Ward Representative James Were in Obambo, Maseno. They stole three mobile phones, Sh37,000, ATM cards and other valuables at gunpoint.
Were was forced to reveal the PIN numbers of his ATM and SIM cards before the thieves sped away on a motorbike.
He had opened the door of his house when the criminals threatened to kill his neighbour whom they had attacked. Were said the thugs shot at the woman’s car before cornering her as they demanded to enter her house.
In another incident, Roseline Kowido was attacked by three armed thugs on a motorcycle at her gate in Milimani. They snatched her handbag.
The thugs shot twice at her car’s windscreen and the door to co-driver’s seat during the 7.55pm incident on May 3.
“I was driving home when I noticed three people on a motorbike behind me. I did not suspect that they were trailing me until they accosted me,” Kowido said.
"When I slowed down, I realised that they also did the same. That is when I suspected that they were after me."
Kowido said her handbag had Sh28,000, a Samsung Galaxy S6 worth Sh28,000 and reading glasses. They also stole nine suits she had collected from the laundry and keys to her business premises.
She reported the matter to Kisumu central police station and the officers checked the CCTV footage at her neighbour’s home. “The police have not recovered any of my stolen items,” she said.
Last week, police arrested rape suspects in Nyalenda estate. In one case, a woman was raped by three men who were wearing masks. In separate incidents, four other women fought off their attackers but sustained knife injuries.
Elsewhere, two police officers were arrested for allegedly assaulting a petrol station attendant and demanding free fuel.
Police constable Valentine Ochieng, based at Mogotio police station, and AP constable Julius Oduor, based at Marimanthi AP post in Tharaka Nithi, were arrested on May 18.
The officers reportedly went to a petrol station in Kachok on the Kisumu-Nairobi road on two motorcycles. They demanded to know why a tanker driver was offloading fuel at the station at night.
During the 1am incident, the officers ordered the attendant to fill their two motorcycles with fuel.
But an argument ensued, and the two officers started beating the tanker driver and a petrol station attendant.
Boda Boda riders who were nearby intervened and alerted other police officers on patrol. They arrested the two officers and locked them up at Kisumu central police station.
Edited by P. Wanambisi