•It took the effort of detectives from the elite Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, backed up by a contingent of officers from the Kayole police division to apprehend the suspect, DCI said.
•In the 48-hour meticulously planned operation, detectives had prior to Katitu’s arrest rounded up two of his alleged accomplices, Brian Wambua Mbindyo and Danson Musyoka Mulee.
Image: DCI
Detectives have arrested a man suspected to be the mastermind of the spate of armed robberies that have rocked Nairobi in the past few days.
DCI in a statement said the suspect, John Mutiso Makau alias Katitu, is believed to be a returnee from the Al-Shabaab militia in Somalia. He was arrested after a dramatic chase in Kayole's estate.
It took the effort of detectives from the elite Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, backed up by a contingent of officers from the Kayole police division to apprehend the suspect, DCI said.
In the 48-hour meticulously planned operation, detectives had prior to Katitu’s arrest rounded up two of his alleged accomplices, Brian Wambua Mbindyo and Danson Musyoka Mulee.
According to detectives, Katitu’s dramatic arrest left residents of Kayole’s Matopeni area shocked following a commotion that stretched for three kilometres as detectives chased after the suspect.
DCI has credited Chief Inspector Gicharu (real name withheld) for the successful operation saying the suspect believed to have received combat and martial arts training in neighbouring Somalia would have escaped were it not for him.
Gicharu went after the suspect and managed to pounce on him after a 3 km chase.
The suspects ran out of luck after the sleuths gathered sufficient actionable intelligence regarding their whereabouts.
Their arrests follow the gruesome killing of a man who was shot four times in broad daylight, seconds after walking out of a bank in Donholm, on October 31.
In the incident that attracted countrywide attention, the suspects fired four bullets into Nicodemus Mbuvi Munyasya, who was walking out of Donholm’s Family bank carrying a carrier bag, killing him on the spot.
The 38-year-old accounts clerk had deposited a cheque in the bank and was walking out carrying two disposable cups in the carrier bag.
Immediately he stepped out of the banking hall, two thugs on a motorbike accosted him and a scuffle ensued as the thugs snatched the bag from Munyasia, assuming that it contained a wad of cash.
When Munyasia resisted, he was shot four times, three times on his legs and once in his chest by the fleeing thugs.
Forensic Crime Scene detectives recovered one spent cartridge and one bullet head at the scene.
Three days before the incident, the suspects had accosted a woman as she left her M-pesa shop in Umoja estate and shot her in the ankle before taking possession of her handbag which contained an unspecified amount of money.
Regina Chege was approaching the gate to her house at around 9:30pm when the suspects on a motorbike struck.
This incident was similar to one reported at Embakasi police station on October 19, where one Dennis Musyoki and his wife who operates an M-pesa outlet were attacked at gunpoint as they walked home.
In yet another incident involving the armed miscreant gang, a retired managing director of Coast Development Authority, had been accosted at the gate to his compound in April, this year.
James Kahindi, was parking his vehicle at his home in Gataka, Ongata Rongai when, when two men opened the doors to his vehicle, a Toyota Hilux.
Kahindi, a licensed firearm holder reached for his Caska pistol and fired two shots in the air, as the terrified thugs scampered for dear life.
During the incident, the thugs shot at Kahindi’s house help who was rushed to Nairobi Women’s hospital in stable condition.
DCI says preliminary findings from the Forensic Ballistic Unit established that the firearm used in all four incidents was similar.
The detectives also established that one of the main suspect’s accomplices, Danson Musyoka, had a past criminal record and had been involved in various bank heists before going under.
When he realized that he was on the police radar, he retreated to his rural home in Matuu where he put up a modest home, DCI statement added.
According to detectives, Musyoka had recently sneaked back to the city where he teamed up with Katitu and Mbindyo to terrorize city residents.
Aware that detectives were on his trail, DCI says he changed tact from bank robberies to ferrying his accomplices to scenes of crime.
He moved around in a red motorcycle that would be spotted bearing registration numbers KMF 265Y and KMGF 588H.
It was his preferred getaway means.
In the well-organized criminal gang, DCI says Mbindyo was in-charge of surveillance and his duties included going round M-pesa shops in city estates gathering information on the shops transacting large amounts of cash, before sharing his findings with his accomplices.
In a detailed confession, DCI says Mbindyo told detectives that he would also remain at the scenes of crime and offer misleading eye-witness accounts to crime scene detectives and members of the press.
He would only leave the scene after ensuring that he has tampered with every detail that would incriminate his accomplices.
In the ongoing investigations into the activities of the gang, detectives recovered 18 rounds of 9mm Caliber from Katitu’s house in Fedha estate last night.
An operation to arrest the fourth accomplice only identified as Willie or Ibrah also a returnee from Somalia is currently underway.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations is requesting members of the public to volunteer information that may lead to the arrest of the suspect.