Police officer and woman arrested over missing firearm in Machakos

This is the second firearm to go missing in Matungulu Subcounty within three months

by GEORGE OWITI

News16 November 2025 - 20:56

In Summary

The officer was immediately detained at Tala Police Station, while the unidentified woman—who was reportedly inside his house shortly before the weapon vanished—was placed under lawful custody at KBC Police Station.
Mutune confirmed that investigations have been launched to establish how the rifle disappeared and who is responsible.

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A police officer and a woman have been arrested after a rifle mysteriously disappeared from the officer’s house at a police station in Machakos County, marking yet another troubling case of missing firearms in the region.

According to Matungulu Subcounty Police Commander Festus Mutune, the firearm went missing on Saturday night from the house of an officer attached to the KBC Police Station, which also serves as the subcounty police command headquarters.

“The officer reported that he found the firearm missing from his house, where he had left it after stepping out to buy vegetables on Saturday night,” Mutune said on Sunday.

The officer was immediately detained at Tala Police Station, while the unidentified woman—who was reportedly inside his house shortly before the weapon vanished—was placed under lawful custody at KBC Police Station.

Mutune confirmed that investigations have been launched to establish how the rifle disappeared and who is responsible.

This is the second firearm to go missing in Matungulu Subcounty within three months. In August, a G3 rifle vanished from Kinyui Police Post under unclear circumstances.

That rifle was eventually recovered on October 21, 2025, after being found abandoned at Katine Village in Tala Location. The breakthrough came after members of the public tipped off local authorities.

Matungulu Deputy County Commissioner Everline Wekesa confirmed the recovery, saying the weapon was found without its buttstock.

“We are here as the Matungulu Subcounty Security Committee. Our officers have processed the scene where the G3 rifle was recovered,” Wekesa told reporters during the on-site briefing.

“We have confirmed that the firearm we lost is the one found here. It has been recovered,” she said, adding that investigations were ongoing to arrest the suspect, who remains at large.

Wekesa praised residents for supporting law enforcement, urging them to continue sharing information that can help prevent crime.

The discovery came just a day after Machakos County Commissioner Josephine Ouko publicly appealed for help in locating the missing rifle during Mashujaa Day celebrations at St. Mary’s Primary School in Tala.

“There was a G3 rifle that was stolen here. Please, members of the public, help us to recover it,” Ouko had said in her address.

With yet another firearm now unaccounted for, security officials in Matungulu say they are intensifying efforts to tighten police armoury controls and prevent further security breaches.