Two armed gangsters suspected to be behind a spate of robberies in five counties were yesterday evening shot dead during a gun battle with police officers along the Eldoret-Mumias highway.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the two are responsible of terrorising residents in Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, Bungoma, Kakamega and Vihiga counties.
They were shot dead on their way to Eldoret from Mumias while riding a motorcycle when they were approached by undercover police officers and refused to surrender prompting the officers to open fire.
“The officers were then prompted to answer the provocation with a volley of fierce gunfire, killing them on the spot,” DCI stated.
The unidentified gang members were found with an AK-47 assault rifle loaded with 19 rounds of ammunition of 7.62mm special calibre.
DCI stated that the thugs were part of a five-man gang that had staged a total of 8 armed attacks in the five counties between October 22 to December 26.
They were also responsible for the deaths of three innocent bystanders and the maiming of several others during previous robberies.
They targeted M-Pesa shops, supermarkets and wholesale shops where millions of shillings were lost leading to complaints from businessmen.
DCI added that they managed to track down the two after a ballistic report linked all the attacks to one firearm prompting the deployment of detectives to the five counties for a manhunt of the thugs.