A bystander was shot and injured after a robbery incident escalated into a struggle between police officers and a violent mob in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area on Monday evening.
The incident occurred at about 7.55 p.m. as the victim, an aspiring California Ward MCA candidate, was walking from Biafra Mosque towards Eastleigh Section.
The victim told police that he was accosted by a group of about 30 people who surrounded him after he raised an alarm while trying to escape. The attackers allegedly robbed him of Sh20,000, a wallet and a Google Pixel 10 mobile phone valued at Sh130,000.
Police officers on patrol responded to the distress call and attempted to rescue the victim. However, they were also attacked by the group.
During the confrontation, some of the suspects allegedly tried to snatch a Jericho pistol from one of the officers. The firearm discharged one round during the struggle.
The bullet struck a 32-year-old man, who was seated inside a parked matatu nearby. He sustained a gunshot wound to the right thigh and was rushed to MSF Hospital for first aid before being referred to Ushirika Elite Hospital, where he was reported to be in stable condition.
Police have launched investigations into the robbery and the shooting as efforts continue to identify and apprehend those involved in the attack. No arrests had been reported at the time of filing the police report.
And two suspects were arrested in Nairobi after police recovered 41 mobile phones and other electronic devices believed to be stolen during an intelligence-led operation in the Bus Station area.
According to police, officers from Kamukunji Police Station acted on intelligence received on Monday evening indicating that a shop in the Bus Station area was being used to receive and trade in suspected stolen mobile phones.
The officers raided the premises at about 5.50 p.m. and arrested two suspects identified as Kevin Muli Mutisya and Dickson Kiplagat.
During the operation, police recovered 41 mobile phones of various brands, including five Infinix handsets, 14 Samsung phones, five Vivo phones, four Nokia phones, three Oppo phones, and one handset each of Huawei, Redmi, ZTE, G Phone, Honor, Smarta, Tecno, Itel, M-KOPA and Haro. Officers also recovered three mobile phone motherboards.
Other items seized from the shop included a Samsung tablet, a Tecno tablet, an Apple iPad, an HP laptop, a Dell CPU and a laptop charger.
The suspects were escorted to Kamukunji Police Station, where they are being processed ahead of being charged with handling suspected stolen goods. All the recovered exhibits were detained at the station as investigations continue to establish their ownership and whether they are linked to reported theft cases in Nairobi.
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