Police have arrested three men in Kisumu following an operation on Sunday, December 1, 2024 evening.
The three are believed to be part of a larger gang of suspected criminals who had been waylaying members of the public and robbing them of valuables along Kisumu-Nairobi Road near the CFAO centre.
“[The three] have been placed in custody pending arraignment while [one] is in hospital undergoing treatment,” DCI said in a statement on December 2, 2024.
According to the police, the gang comprising five thugs attacked the officers who were involved in a sting operation to weed out criminals who had been attacking passengers using the road.
“Oblivious of a sting operation to end their reign of terror, the trio who were part of a five-man gang pounced on the officers using an array of crude weapons, too late to realize they had carried the wrong weapons in a battle of guns,” DCI added.
Suspect hospitalised
During the exchange, police revealed that one person was hospitalized after sustaining injuries.
DCI also noted that the other part of the Kisumu gang had been identified and that they were conducting operations to bring them to book.
“The latter, having been identified, are being hotly pursued amidst calls to surrender at the Kasagam station,” they added.
The incident comes just months after Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat conducted an impromptu visit at one of the police stations in Kisumu to assess their performance.
Widespread attacks
The visit came after widespread complaints about the deteriorating security at the lake-side city. A GSU officer had been stabbed to death while another police officer stationed in Kisii County was battling for his life after getting hit on the head with a blunt object.
At the time, Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda appealed to police officers to intensify their patrols in the city after residents complained of widespread robberies.
“We are concerned about the latest incidences where some innocent members of the public have lost lives in brutal attacks by suspect gangs marauding in the city’s informal settlements. We want you to beef up patrols,” Ojienda said in August.
A month later, seven suspects were arrested while another was shot following an operation conducted by Kisumu County Commissioner Benson Leparmorijo.
“We have one of the suspects behind the rising cases of attacks using blunt objects. Our officers are interrogating him and he is going to lead us to the other suspects,” he said.
