Two robbery suspects were nabbed by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations on Tuesday, February 25, following a ludicrous turn of events.
Molo Deputy County Commissioner, David Wanyonyi, told The Standard that the two suspects had raided the house of Voices of Gospel Church Bishop Paul Gitonga, and his wife Eunice Muthoni, on February 1, and went on to hack them using machetes.
However, during the melee, one of the suspects accidentally chopped off two of his accomplice's fingers, forcing both to flee the crime scene, leaving behind a severed finger without giving it much thought.
The detached appendage proved to be a vital piece of evidence when police officers visited the crime scene.
"We used part of an index finger chopped off from the hand of a suspect by his accomplice and arrested the two suspects involved in the attack," Wanyonyi revealed.
The forensics department at the DCI analysed the fingerprint and positively matched it to data provided by the registrar of persons.
This led them to the suspect's home in Tayari Village where he was apprehended.
He was duly interrogated and quickly gave up the name and location of his accomplice, and the DCI swiftly made their way to the second suspect's house in Jogoo, Kuresoi North, where they found him in possession of the machete used in the attack.
"The suspect confessed that after breaking into the house, Gitonga got hold of him. During the struggle, his accomplice, while aiming at the bishop, instead cut off the man's fingers. They left the scene after seriously injuring the bishop and his wife," the DCI officer narrated.
He further disclosed that it was the bishop's brother, Simon Munene, who had discovered the fingers as he was cleaning up the house.
"We took the finger to the hospital thinking it was the bishop's or his wife's. We were hoping that the doctors would find a way of reattaching it, but we found that all their fingers were intact," Munene explained.
He then took the fingers to Molo Police Station, leading to both arrests.
The bishop's brother went on to reveal that both victims were responding well to treatment, having been admitted at Nairobi Women's Hospital in Nakuru for four days following the incident.
