Photo Credit: Boniface Mwangi
A Sunday night patrol in Nakuru City’s Freehold area turned deadly when suspected gang members ambushed a group of police officers, leaving one officer dead and two others seriously injured.
Constable Josphat Ruto, who was part of a four-man patrol team, lost his life after armed attackers opened fire on the officers along Freehold Road, an area that has recently seen a sharp rise in violent crime.
According to Nakuru County Commissioner Loyford Kibaara, the officers encountered the gang as the suspects were allegedly planning to carry out a crime. “A shootout ensued, and Constable Ruto was shot in the pelvic area. He later succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment at Nakuru Level Five Hospital,” Kibaara said.
A medical report later confirmed that Ruto died from excessive bleeding.
The two other officers injured in the incident were identified as Saul Mutoro and Walter Makori. Mutoro sustained a deep cut on his right hand from a panga and was treated and discharged in stable condition. Makori, however, remains hospitalized in critical condition after a gunshot wound to his back exited through his abdomen.
One of the suspected criminals was also injured during the shootout but managed to flee the scene.
“In a separate incident, the gang staged a violent robbery at a shop located in Soilo area of Nakuru, attacking the 24-year-old owner with machetes and daggers before stealing hundreds of thousands from his shop. After the daring robbery, they dragged the already suppressed young man from the shop and shot him dead. Several other incidents have been reported across the County,” the DCI reported.
Authorities Crack Down on Criminal Gang
In the wake of the attack on officers, police launched an aggressive manhunt. Within hours, detectives arrested five suspects believed to be behind a string of armed robberies that have gripped Nakuru for the past three weeks. Among those arrested was a 45-year-old woman and a recently released ex-convict who is suspected to be the gang’s ringleader.
The five have since been identified as William Nywhili Rioba, Nyahili Nyamuhaga Magige, Emmanuel Muita Muita, Catherine Nkatha Zakayo and Peter Chacha.
Officers found the suspects hiding in a room at Umoja Lodging, a location intelligence reports identified as a frequent regrouping point for the gang after committing crimes.
Investigations revealed that the ex-convict had been released from Nakuru GK Prison just a month ago and is believed to have quickly resumed criminal activities upon re-entering society.
Another suspect, who was reportedly seen with the attackers at Gilgil Bar shortly before the Freehold shooting, was also apprehended after a member of the public identified him.
Based on information gathered from the suspects, police recovered an AK-47 rifle hidden in Bondeni Estate. Authorities say a woman who operates a kiosk in the area had been entrusted with concealing the weapon.
“For the last week, we have had several serious incidents. Businesspeople have been killed and members of the public are living in fear. Ballistic tests confirmed that the cartridges recovered from various scenes were 7.62mm rounds used in AK-47 rifles,” the commissioner said.
AK-47 Linked to Multiple Crimes
Commissioner Kibaara said the recovered weapon is linked to a recent surge of violent crimes in neighborhoods such as Pipeline, Pakawa, Ndege Ndimu, Ngata, and Soilo.
Detectives also established that the gang coordinated its operations through mobile phones. Data extracted from the suspects’ devices revealed a trail of communication linking them to past crimes and helped investigators map out their movement across the city.
“The gang would often return to Umoja Lodging to regroup after each attack. Intelligence led us to that location where we managed to arrest four suspects,,” Kibaara noted.
Early findings suggest that at least five of the suspects are from the Kuria region near the Kenya-Tanzania border. Police believe they were working with local accomplices in Nakuru to carry out coordinated attacks.
Although several suspects are now in custody, the search for additional gang members continues. Commissioner Kibaara confirmed that security teams are pursuing strong leads.
“We believe the gang is part of a larger network. ,” he said. “The nature of crime in Nakuru has evolved from phone snatching and M-Pesa fraud to violent robberies with pangas and now deadly gun violence. We will not allow this to continue.”
The recovered AK-47 is not registered to any local police station, raising concerns about how such dangerous weapons are ending up in the hands of criminals. Authorities have launched a forensic investigation to trace its origin.
Kibaara also urged Nakuru residents to stay alert and report any suspicious activity to the police.
