A gang of 10 men armed with AK47 rifles on Monday, April 10, stormed the Iten County Referral Hospital at midnight and rescued their accomplice who was nursing gunshot wounds in the facility.
In a police report seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the patient who was discharged at midnight was under heavy protection by the police as he was a suspect.
Among the contingent guarding him were officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
"10 police officers drawn from DCI Keiyo North and Iten police station visited the said facility. Four police officers went to the ward to secure the discharge while six others manned the main hospital gate," the report read in part.
As the police waited for a vehicle to transport the suspect to a station, the gang of suspected bandits stormed into Iten Hospital
"At about 0210 hours, a group of ten young men, six of whom were armed with AK47 rifles stormed the ward. They smashed windows and managed to rescue the patient from police officers," the OB No. 02 of 10/04/2023 read in part.
None of the police officers nor the armed men sustained any injury during the well-organised raid.
No gunshots were fired, and the medical staff and patients in the facility were unharmed in the ambush. The police officers unsuccessfully tried to chase after the armed assailants.
Keiyo North DCI launched a manhunt to fish out the daring bandits from their hideouts. Officers handling the case have also been put under investigation.
Cops manning the gate and a number of staff at the facility recorded statements with the police.
Among the questions investigators will seek to answer is how the gang members knew when their accomplice would be discharged from the facility.
The raid came amid the ongoing operation by police and the Kenya Defence Forces to end the banditry menace in the North Rift region.
