At least 15 suspected members of a criminal gang were arrested, and a cache of crude weapons recovered following a meticulously coordinated operation in Kisumu County.
The operation followed intelligence that a group of persons suspected to be armed with crude weapons was travelling in three vehicles along the Kisumu–Kericho highway.
This came as tension rose in Homa Bay Town ahead of a planned rally on Sunday. Hired goons blocked major routes in the town using boulders and twigs negatively affecting traffic flow.
Groups kept moving from one place to the other as early as 6 am on Sunday with no police on sight.
There were fears of chaos ahead of the rally planned in the area y Linda Mwananchi brigade. Police said they were investigating the developments.
Some hotels reported being attacked and property vandalized by goons.
A local politician was seen inciting violence and directing a group to attack anyone singing Tutam slogan.
This came despite assurances by Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo who comes from the area that the rally will be peaceful. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen also assured of security.
Police sources said there were instructions from elsewhere to the contrary hence the chaos witnessed.
The Linda Mwananchi leaders had landed the town ahead of the rally amid tension.
The weapons seized are believed to have been headed for Homa Bay for chaos.
Acting swiftly on the information, detectives from the DCI Operations Support Unit (OSU), working alongside officers from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB), Nyanza Region, and DCI Kisumu Central, moved in and intercepted the vehicles.
The suspects were found aboard a grey Toyota Noah and two white Toyota Hiace vans, both operating under the Nyakija Classic Shuttle along the Kisumu–Migori route.
A search of the vehicles and the suspects yielded several mobile phones, assorted machetes and pangas, knives, ropes, a metal rod/club and other items suspected to have been intended for criminal activities.
As the operation unfolded, one suspect and believed to have been leading the group, made a daring escape by jumping through a vehicle window.
The 15 suspects, together with the recovered exhibits, were taken into custody, where they are undergoing processing pending arraignment as detectives pursue the case.
Meanwhile, detectives are hot on the trail of the suspected gang leader, who manged to escape.
This operation underscores the resolve of the National Police Service to disrupt criminal networks before they can strike, keeping dangerous individuals and weapons off the streets and safeguarding innocent members of the public.
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