A police officer in Marsabit county was arrested after weapons and ammunition handed to him for safekeeping went missing.
The police constable identified as Evans Ochieng was also charged with malicious damage to government property.
The County issued a notice informing the public of the officer's arrest recorded under OB number 22/8/2/2021. Evans was also charged with malicious damage to government property namely storeroom.
The officer reportedly went missing on Saturday, February 6, after he was deployed on station guard duties. He had been issued with a rifle and two magazines loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition each.
The suspect is said to have resurfaced days later, and and on inspection, his rifle was found to contain only five rounds of ammunition.
He reportedly could not account for the missing ammunition prompting his arrest. Also, it was discovered that the firearm had bandage wrappings, sticks, and was generally broken. He had also reportedly stashed pieces of clothes into the magazine.
On further inspection at his home, a second firearm, which was empty, was recovered. The rifle together with the five ammunition is in safe custody awaiting police action. The suspect is currently in police custody awaiting to be taken to court today.
A number of police officers have recently lost their firearms under unclear circumstances, with the most recent case involving police officers who lost loaded guns to criminals who had invaded a bank in Nairobi.
The Directorate of Criminal investigations are specifically looking at how the two police officers lost two firearms and 60 rounds of ammunition in the heist.
Some of the officers have been accused of carelessness when it comes to handling of weapons.
The government has initiated a mop up exercise in an attempt to retrieve firearms from civilians. The government announced amnesty to individuals who will voluntarily give up their guns, with the exercise largely targeting the northeastern region.
