A suspected robber died at the hands of an angry mob moments after he had been shot by a cop.
The incident happened Tuesday morning in the Capitol Hill area of Ruai in Nairobi.
The deceased was part of a three-man gang that was robbing pedestrians at gunpoint. The gangsters had just accosted two women, Anne Wanjiru and Lilian Mueni, when a police officer confronted them.
Seargent Samuel Mutuku, attached to the Administration Police Service, was on his way to work when he witnessed the daring mugging.
“He swiftly unholstered his firearm, a ceska semi-automatic pistol, loaded with enough rounds of 9mm and ordered the thugs to slowly lift up their hands in surrender, lest he opens fire,” reads a report from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations(DCI).
“The miscreants defied the order and turned back to attack him. But the experienced sergeant with a distinguished career in the protection of life and property was too smart for their antics. He opened fire, seriously injuring one of them as the others took flight.”
Seargent Mutuku gave chase to the fleeing duo for a short distance but they jumped on a getaway motorbike that was 50metres away.
“But as fate would have it, the damned bike could not start after several spirited kicks forcing them to abandon it and escape on foot,” added the DCI.
As this was going on, an irate crowd gathered around the injured robber and gave him a dog’s beating, killing him on the spot.
The officer is said to have pleaded with the locals to let the suspect have his day in court but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
Police impounded the getaway motorbike registration number KMFL 494T and begun investigations.
A mobile phone that had been snatched from one of the victims was also recovered from the suspect as well as a long sword and a machete.
“Sgt Mutuku’s heroic actions are a reflection of the determination and selflessness displayed by a majority of our men and women in uniform, in their daily service to Kenyans. He remains our role model as we celebrate this year’s customer service week,” DCI concluded.
