Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Saturday arrested a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldier for allegedly stealing a firearm from a Prado Driver in Kirinyaga County.
The officer, accompanied by a man and a woman as accomplices, targeted the victim who had encountered a mishap while driving a Toyota Prado, veering off the road and into a ditch.
The slippery road conditions led to the accident, prompting nearby residents to assist the stranded victim.
The 56-year-old was helped out of the ditch at 8.30 pm and he headed home. However, upon getting to his residence, he realised that his firearm loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition was missing.
At this point, the driver started ransacking his vehicle but he couldn't find the weapon. In a desperate effort to locate it, he attempted to retrace his steps and ask around but none of this worked.
"He returned to the scene the same night searching for the firearm until 10 pm but could do little to trace anything in the dark and trampled muddy passage from an ongoing downpour," DCI stated.
After the report was filed at Wang'uru Police Station in Mwea East, the detectives launched investigations, and the firearm was found in Juja, Kiambu County.
DCI detectives would later arrest the KDF officer and 2 others in Windridge-Chai Estate in Juja, Kiambu County after which they were escorted to Wang'uru Police Station.
"Investigations are underway to determine how six rounds of ammunition which were missing from the firearm were expended," DCI stated.
This comes after the DCI in September recovered 2 firearms stolen from a General Service Unit (GSU) camp in Bungoma County, during which a former GSU officer was arrested as the main suspect.
The officer was said to have sneaked into the GSU camp at night and left with the firearms undetected. The detectives initiated a manhunt for the suspect who had hidden in a nearby sugarcane plantation.
Even as the crimes happen, Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome has asked those holding guns illegally to surrender them to nearby police stations or face the full force of the law.
