The two most wanted criminal gangs of robbery with violence have finally been arrested by the Kisumu Criminal Investigations Officer.
They have been identified as Fredrick Oduor Ongori and John Okumu Owidhi alias Matools.
Under a long radar, the marauding gang members have been playing a hide-and-seek game with the police.
According to the law enforcers, the hapless local residents across Yala, Siaya, and Maseno towns have been living in fear due to Matools and Ongori-led incessant terror attacks.
Confirming the reports, Kisumu West OCPD Mr Bernard Ngungu, said that the two orchestrated the night attack on two revellers at Kisian market.
“The unsuspecting victims left Billionaires Bar and Restaurant at Kisian Market. The cousins boarded a tuk-tuk and headed home in Ongalo village on 13th May,” Ngungu said.
In a twist of events, he narrated, a grey Toyota Axio saloon car suddenly screeched to a halt, and three machete-wielding men stormed out.
The gang accosted the two, with one managing to flee.
The unlucky one was hijacked and bundled into the waiting vehicle, which sped off towards Kisian Junction.
“They later started demanding money through the victim’s phone as they drove and disappeared into dark areas.”
The swoop was carried out by detectives from Kisumu West, in collaboration with their Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau counterparts from the Nyanza region.
Commenting on the same incident, Kisumu East OCPD Mr Edward Wafula said that hours later, the lady was found at Daraja Mbili along Kiboswa Road.
“She was gang raped, her phone and other valuables stolen.”
Kisumu County CCIO Mr Joshua Chelal Cheptoo remarked that the detectives later launched an extensive manhunt, following forensic clues that led them to a silver-grey Toyota Axio registration number KDA 019U.
“They were recklessly driving through traffic from Kisumu Patel Junction towards Kondele, oblivious to the dragnet we had set up.”
A high-octane car chase ensued between the detectives and the gang in the lakeside city streets.
The duo’s dare-devil drive hit a snag when their vehicle knocked the pavement around the Regnol Petrol Station-Nyamasaria road, losing control in a chaotic crash.
Ongori, the gang leader-cum-driver, was swiftly nabbed on the spot.
After intense interrogation, he led detectives to Obunga slums, where his partner-in-crime, Matools, was also apprehended.
Further investigations revealed that the two suspects are jailbreak fugitives, long under the police radar.
Kisumu County Commissioner Mr Benson Leparmorijo noted that as law enforcement officers, they are out to make sure Kisumu remains a safe place.
“We want to assure the general public of their safety and urge them to share with us any information that can lead to a crackdown on the elements of crime.”
Leparmorijo warned the marauding gangs that: “It’s high time you pack and leave because we are coming for you, as Kisumu county at large must remain a crime-free zone,” he said.
Now in custody, the duo faces the full force of the law as detectives widen the net to arrest more accomplices.
