Police in Turkana County have recovered an AK-47 rifle following a foiled abduction attempt targeting a 16-year-old girl.
According to officers, the incident occurred in Kaapus location when an armed man stormed a homestead and demanded to take the minor by force. Alert residents raised the alarm, prompting a swift response from Lorugum Police Station.
Led by the Officer Commanding Station (OCS), officers launched an immediate operation. Although the suspect managed to escape, a search of the area uncovered an AK-47 assault rifle loaded with six rounds of ammunition and one spent cartridge.
The firearm has since been secured as evidence as police continue a manhunt for the suspect, described as a serious threat to public safety.
The National Police Service commended members of the public for their quick action and urged residents to remain vigilant. “We encourage the public to continue reporting suspicious activities at their nearest police station,” police said in a statement.
This incident comes just days after police in Kiserian, Kajiado County, recovered another AK-47 rifle during an operation in which eight suspects were arrested over violent robberies.
In that operation, police also seized a vehicle believed to have been used in the crimes, surgical gloves, cellotape, assorted mobile phones, a police pocket phone, an axe, a baton, and a metal rod.
The suspects are linked to a September 1 attack on a businessman’s home in Kahuho village, where armed assailants — some carrying AK-47 rifles and one dressed in military fatigues — held eight family members hostage for nearly two hours.
The gang made away with three laptops, Sh200,000 in cash, assorted electronics, and Sh12,000 transferred from stolen mobile phones. In a show of intimidation, one of the attackers fired a shot into the floor, shattering tiles before collecting the spent cartridge.
Although no one was injured, the victims described the ordeal as terrifying. “It was two hours of pure torture,” one family member told police.
The attacks have revived fears in Kiserian, where residents still recall a wave of gang violence in 2006 that forced some families to abandon their homes.
Police say operations to recover more illegal firearms and dismantle the criminal networks are ongoing.
