Notorious Southern bypass highway robber arrested
One of the robbers who have been terrorising motorists along the Southern Bypass was arrested on Tuesday.
Police laid an ambush shortly after the suspect and his two accomplices were reported to have been stopping and robbing motorists outside National Housing Corporation offices on the bypass.
An assortment of metal bars and knives was seized from the suspect during the 5.30am operation that was conducted by police officers from the Lang’ata Police Station.
Lang’ata OCPD Elijah Maina said the suspect was arrested when police found him and another man, who escaped, erecting illegal barriers using huge stones.
“We have launched a manhunt for the suspect who is at large and I think the one in our custody will help us in our investigations,” Mr Maina said.
It is not clear whether the suspect at large was armed, but motorists who had fallen victim to the duo reported that one of the robbers was armed with a small pistol.
Police say the suspects targeted motorists during the day and at night, and that there had been several attempts to arrest them.
On Wednesday, a victim, Mr Eric Wamenyo, said the suspects had tried to rob him on Monday afternoon but they escaped after they saw an oncoming police vehicle on the opposite side of the road.
VICTIM’S ACCOUNT
“There was traffic and I saw them in front of me.
“One of them was brandishing a gun and he asked the woman motorist to open the window.
“She obliged and the other guy who was not armed reached out for her purse and took some things from it.
“For a while, I could not see them but as the traffic started moving, I saw them ahead of me.
“They then came straight towards me and asked me to open the window.
“This time, they did not show me a gun but as I was still wondering what would happen next, they suddenly ran away and that is when I realised that they had seen a police vehicle that was heading towards Lang’ata,” Mr Wamenyo said, adding that the duo escaped towards Kibera.
The arrest also came just a few hours after a businessman, a former CID officer, was shot and killed on Lang’ata Road.
Mr Moses Muchangi was killed by a gang of five men wielding AK-47 rifles at 11.39am Monday morning.
Mr Muchangi was a director at Rasasi Investment, which owns a fleet of matatus called “Rasasi” that operate along Lang’ata Road.
