New details have emerged on the identities of the two police officers who shot and killed a suspected terrorist in Mwingi, Kitui County.
The incident happened Saturday night when a gunman attacked two police officers while driving an official Prado along Mwingi-Garissa Highway.
Witnesses said the incident happened when a lone gunman, believed to be a foreigner, attacked the two officers who are the aides of President William Ruto’s national security advisor and former Defence Cabinet Secretary Dr Monica Juma.
The officers were heading to Monica’s rural home when the incident happened. She was not on board the car at the time of the incident.
The officers shot and killed the gunman and recovered a rifle with 23 bullets, two pairs of shoes, sufuria with foodstuffs, and a knife in a dramatic confrontation in Nguni, Mwingi, Kitui County.
Police said they suspect the slain man was a terrorist who had lost his direction.
Read: Police Shoot Dead Terror Suspect, Recover Rifle from Him in Mwingi
A solar panel, scissors, a pen, and a black bag pack containing 38 rounds of ammunition were also retrieved from the scene.
Other recovered items included seven notes of Somali currency, Sh2,800, two mobile phones, and one extended cartridge.
The gunman had earlier attacked a water bowser driver and tried to rob him forcing him to drive through with a punctured tyre. The shooting prompted him to accelerate and after driving for about 800 meters, he spotted police officers who he tried to warn them of the impending danger in vain.
Few meters ahead, the police officers attached to Monica were accosted by the gunman who held them at gunpoint and ordered them out of the vehicle.
During the incident, the lone gunman fired three rounds prompting the officers to return fire, which eventually fatally injured the robber, police said.
In the process, the official car that the officers were using was hit twice in the rear damaging it. Police said the gunman could be part of al Shabaab who have been operating in the area and had strayed from Garissa to the region.
The body was taken to a local mortuary pending autopsy and further analysis. The area has been experiencing terror related attacks that left dozens of people killed. Others were injured.
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