Identities of Rongai robbery gang suspects unmasked

Police have released the identities of three suspected robbers who were arrested on suspicion of taking part in a Sunday morning incident where a woman was robbed at gunpoint at her home in Kandisi in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado County.

By Wednesday evening, four suspects had been arrested, with detectives looking for two more, including the mastermind, who is believed to be a rogue police officer.

Police officers in Ongata Rongai said after the arrests that the suspects are connected one way or another.

Among those arrested were 24-year-old Robert Kimani Irungu, from Kware in Ongata Rongai.

“Kimani was found in possession of a Browning pistol, serial number B436591, without a magazine. The pistol was found hidden inside a charcoal jiko inside his rented one-bedroomed house,” police said.

His alleged accomplices, also in custody, were Jane Achieng Ochieng from Kibera and John Ochieng Oranja from Bombolulu Kibera, both 21.

The fourth suspect is an M-Pesa attendant.

Meanwhile, police have recovered some of the items stolen from the victim’s house.

Police spokesperson Bruno Shioso said that they had recovered a television set, a sub-hoofer and items of clothing that the robbers were wearing during the incident.

‘The dragnet is being widened to nab more suspects still on the run. The Inspector-General of Police has ordered a crackdown within the areas and environs of Ongata Rongai targeting organised criminal gangs terrorising and robbing law-abiding citizens,” he added.

This comes after Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i ordered officers at the Kandisi Police Station to be transferred as one way of addressing rising insecurity in the area.

Dr Matiang’i issued the directive on Monday after residents complained about deteriorating security in the neighbourhood. The CS also ordered all bars and liquor shops shut.

“A new team will be brought [in] to cover the entire Kandisi area and work hand in hand with the local police. All criminal activities must be recorded in the OB and forwarded to my office by Monday evening,” Dr Matiang’i said.

Forensic detectives and officers from the DCI’s Serious Crimes Unit spent the whole day on Tuesday combing the house where the robbery happened. They extracted CCTV footage and recorded statements from witnesses.

The woman’s husband, Mr Geofrey Otieno, had travelled out of Nairobi for work when the robbery happened. Only his wife, whose name has not been released for security reasons, two children and a domestic helper were present when the robbers struck.

A total of six men, including one that detectives suspect is a rogue police officer, took part in the robbery. It is also suspected that the alleged officer was behind the robbery, prompting the Interior ministry to mount a crackdown in the area.

Five such attacks have been recorded in the occurrence book at the Kandisi Police Station in the past three months. Nighbouring estates have also been rocked by insecurity.