• She left behind her mobile phone, which has proven hard to track her movements.
• DCI George Kinoti appealed to the public to help them apprehend the woman whom he termed 'rogue, armed and dangerous'.
Image: Handout
Several senior police officers are in hiding and on alert after a policewoman wanted over the killing of two people allegedly sent threatening messages to them.
Several units have been scrambled to trace and get corporal Caroline Kangogo, who is said to be a sharpshooter.
Kangogo is suspected to be behind the killing of constable John Ogweno in Nakuru on Monday.
She later allegedly shot and killed Peter Ndwiga Njiru, 32, in a lodging in Juja, Kiambu county, about 200 kilometres from the scene where she killed the police officer.
The senior officers are afraid as they don’t know who her next target could be.
Kangogo is also said to have sent a threatening message to her former husband, before fleeing Nakuru.
This has prompted fears among many officers who were close to her that she could knock on their door.
The police have had a major headache tracing her movements as she abandoned her phone at the scene of the first shooting.
There were reports on Tuesday evening that she had surrendered in Nakuru, but this turned out to be false. Police sources told the Star that security agencies believe she could have been behind the false report.
What is puzzling to authorities is the fact that she is using a single bullet on her victims, and she is armed with a stolen pistol with 14 bullets.
Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti appealed to the public to help them apprehend the woman whom he termed 'rogue, armed and dangerous'.
Kangogo has served at various police stations, including Railways command, before she was posted to Nakuru, where she has been for almost three years.
“We don’t know if she intends to use a single bullet on her victims before she is caught or what her next plans are,” a senior officer, who revealed there were fears among many units and officers, said.
Police said the officer, who took off with Ogweno’s firearm, a loaded Ceska pistol, lured a man to a guest house in Kimbo, Juja, at around 4pm on Monday.
She later emerged from the room at around midnight on Monday and fled, leaving Njiru's blood-soaked body sprawled on the bed.
Detectives have established that she lured the man to the room after paying for it. She shot him in the head at point-blank.
She told an attendant working at the guest house that she had gone to buy toothpaste. Kangogo did not return.
Ogweno was shot on the right side of the head and bled to death. An empty cartridge was recovered at the scene.
A stone used to smash the car window and an iron bar were also recovered and treated as exhibits.
Kinoti said the suspect has been on the run since early Monday morning.
“We are cautioning members of the public, especially men, to be on the lookout for the rogue officer who is luring men into her trap before executing them in cold blood,” he said.
“Let nobody trust her since she is armed and dangerous. Should you spot the suspect who is covering herself in a buibui, do not hesitate to contact us through our toll-free line 0800722203.”
Her colleagues said she had been having challenges related to her work and family.
In 2019, Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai launched a programme to provide officers with psychological support.
The “Muamko Mpya-Healing the Uniform” programme strives to create and hold safe spaces in police stations, offices, camps, colleges and communities.
It enhances peer-to-peer support for officers to feel safe enough and dignified to share their stories and experiences of stress, anguish and trauma in a confidential and non-judgemental environment.
Mutyambai said he is passionate about healing the police from the stress and trauma they regularly experience in the course of their duty.
He said while it is true that every person experiences stress and trauma, the disciplined service is unique in that whenever they go out on their day-to-day activities, they encounter scenarios and incidents that are stressful and traumatic.
The police boss said this leaves them with emotional wounds even as they continue to provide safety and security to citizens.
A Kenyatta University Research Study (2012) on factors contributing to stress, suicide and murder among police officers in Kenya, found that the work of an officer is often exhausting, dangerous, and even traumatic.
It states that police are generally on the receiving end of all community problems.
They are expected to maintain law and order in very difficult situations, besides putting their lives at risk as soon as they leave home every day.
Edited by A.N