Questions linger on stolen police gun recovered by ‘brave’ civilian
An AK-47 rifle.
A supposed botched robbery at Nyeri’s Chaka market on Wednesday led to the recovery of a firearm that had been stolen from a police officer two months earlier.
In an ironic, if not questionable, twist of fate, it was not the police who recovered the firearm but a civilian who was being robbed by someone with an AK-47 rifle.
But questions are beginning to emerge over two theories advanced by the police.
On Tuesday, June 7, Mr Mwangi Irungu, 55, a trader in Chaka, reportedly fell victim to an armed robbery on his way home.
Police reports claim that he was accosted around 8pm by a gun-toting robber outside Chaka Primary School who ordered him to lie down.
Police reported that the assailant demanded money before ordering Mr Irungu to lie down.
He handed over Sh200 but the robber demanded more before frisking him.
Shoved his assailant
“He placed the firearm on the ground so as to have unrestricted access to Irungu’s pockets but this turned out to be a miscalculation for him as the victim shoved his assailant to the ground and grabbed the firearm,” police said in a statement.
Mr Irungu told police that he wrestled with the gunman as he held onto the gun, prompting the attacker to flee.
In a somewhat convenient turn of events, police say that officers on patrol later found Mr Irungu in possession of the gun and 15 rounds of ammunition.
Whether by sheer exaggeration or mere convenience, police claim the victim was able to disarm the gunman thanks to the skills he acquired by peeping at officers in training at the National Police College in Kiganjo.
It has now been revealed that the firearm had been stolen from a police officer on duty two months ago.
The AK-47 rifle was reported missing on April 15 while in the possession of an officer from the Nairutia Police Station, about 60km from the scene of the robbery. The officer was ending his night shift around 5am when he lost his service rifle.
There are conflicting reports on the circumstances in which the gun disappeared.
Snatched his gun and beret
Witnesses and sources claim that the gun was snatched from the officer while he was intoxicated. He was returning to the station from a drinking spree when unknown men snatched his gun and beret.
Police officials, however, claim that the officer reported that the gun was stolen from his house at the Nairutia Police Station residences.
According to Kieni West sub-county Police Commander Ahmed Ali, the officer claimed he had left the gun in his house as he went to answer the call of nature.
“On returning, he found that his house had been broken into and that his firearm and beret were missing,” Mr Ali said.
It is still not clear why the officer decided to leave the rifle in his house rather than in the police station’s armoury.
At the time of the incident, four police officers were on duty at the police station.
The officers’ houses are located 100 metres from the police station. It is also still unclear how the unknown men broke into the officer’s house in the police station without being noticed.
The matter is still under investigation.
