Witnesses: Five robbery suspects had surrendered, but police shot them dead anyway

Five robbery suspects who were shot dead on Tuesday near Makhokho trading centre along the Kakamega-Kisumu road had apparently surrendered after police intercepted their vehicle.

Accounts from witnesses, including a video recorded by a motorist, indicate the officers from the Special Crime Unit, who were trailing the suspects in two vehicles, used one of the vehicles to block the way and ordered them to surrender.

The officers then ordered the suspects to get out of the vehicle and lie on the ground facing down, before they were reportedly shot dead.

The accounts by witnesses contradict the assertion by the police that the suspects had defied orders to surrender, leading to a shootout.

Despite the claims of a shootout, there were no bloodstains inside the suspects’ vehicle, meaning they could have been shot while outside the vehicle. 

The tarmac where the bodies lay was splattered with blood.

When the Nation arrived at the scene, the suspects’ vehicle was parked on the roadside, with one of the vehicles the officers had used parked right behind it. The number plate of the police vehicle had, however, been concealed. 

The door of the suspects’ vehicle had been left open. 

Bodies of three of the suspects lay facing down next to the vehicle, with bullet wounds to their heads. The other two bodies were in a nearby ditch.

A witness said the officers removed three bags from the boot of the suspects’ vehicle and transferred it to one their vehicles. It’s unclear what the bags contained. 

An ID card recovered from one of the suspects belonged to Alex Njuguna from Kaimao in Juja. The other suspects did not have any identification documents.

The suspects had in their possession a Sh650,300 cheque drawn in favour of Mahader Drapers Limited in Bungoma. 

The payment was from from Geovellene Supermarket located in Sega town along the Busia-Kisumu road.

Mr Shiv Shinvey of Mahader Drapers said he knew about the cheque but promised to call back and give further details. 

Identify the suspects

But by the time of filing the story, he had not done so.

A police source told the Nation the suspects had been trailed for three days by the officers all the way from Nairobi. 

The suspects are reported to have stopped in Eldoret town before they headed to Bungoma and later Kakamega.

Kakamega South sub-county police commander Joseph Chesire said the fingerprints of the suspects would be sent to Nairobi to help identify them.

“We are further asking relatives to come and help identify the suspects since no documents were found on them,” said Mr Chesire.

Police impounded two Ceska pistols and some bullets, a pair of police uniforms and several mobile phones from the vehicle.