A gunman seemingly met his match after he was forced to scamper for safety following a tussle with a shopkeeper who pinned him to the ground at Lions area in Trans Nzoia West.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the lone robber, armed with a loaded G3 rifle, accosted the shopkeeper and her husband while they opened their shop at 6:00 am.
Asking them to empty the coffers and hand over the cash, the shopkeeper identified as Caroline Nafula raised her hands as if in surrender while stepping closer to the gunman.
She, however, surprised the gunman by pouncing on him and firmly tossing him to the floor. In the process, Nafula dodged four bullets that the robber fired at her during the brawl.
Fearing for his life, the robber managed to flee for safety - leaving behind his rifle loaded with 11 rounds of ammunition in the hands of Nafula and her husband who alerted the police of the incident.
Detectives, who rushed to the scene, established that the G3 rifle belonged to a Kitale Medium Prison officer at the Kitale Referral Hospital whose gun went missing on April 19, 2023, while he guarded a sick prisoner.
The DCI also lauded the heroic efforts of another female shopkeeper at Nyawiso village in Ndhiwa - Homabay County who managed to wrestle a gunman who had broken into her house.
Hope Odhiambo was relaxing in her living room after closing her business when a lone robber broke into her house pointing an AK47 rifle at her while demanding the day's sale.
Not amused by the gunman’s efforts, the shopkeeper acted swiftly by grabbing the rifle tightly while screaming for help.
Neighbours rushed to her aid - which led to the robber fleeing for safety. He left behind the AK47 loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition and a dagger.
Investigations conducted so far reveal that the rifle had been stolen from an AP officer deployed to Critical Infrastructure Police Unit, Ndhiwa.
“As a thorough probe into the circumstances under which the firearms ended up in the hands of criminal gangs kick in, the DCI commends the two women for their bravery and for joining in the fight to sanitize the streets of gangsters and illegal arms,” the statement read in part.
“We further caution all citizens to ensure their own safety first while caught up in such scenes of armed robberies, and whenever the situation allows as in the case of Nafula and Hope Odhiambo, not to hesitate to do the right thing.”
