Three police officers attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) were on Sunday, October 8, injured while pursuing an armed gang in the Kasarani area, Nairobi County.
In a statement on Monday, October 9, DCI announced that the three were on a mission to recover a ceska pistol held by a notorious thug.
However, the suspected thug retaliated and fired at the officers leaving them with injuries.
“The three officers who are responding well to treatment were on a mission to recover a firearm from a notorious thug in Kasarani,” the statement read in part.
In a show of resilience and determination, the officers managed to neutralize the threat, fatally wounding the attacker and recovering the firearm.
Subsequently, the injured officers were rushed to a Nairobi hospital where the Directorate confirmed they were recuperating.
DCI boss Mohamed Amin visited the officers in the hospital with the Directorate affirming that they were “responding well to treatment”.
“The trio however managed to recover the firearm, a ceska pistol and fatally wounded the attacker. We wish the injured officers a speedy recovery,” the statement read.
Police onslaught on miscreants
The shootout incident adds to the long list of armed crime activities reported in Nairobi and other parts of the country.
In September, the DCI announced that three members of a suspected vicious gang believed to have terrorized residents in Kisii County were neutralized.
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The gang was silenced after a multi-agency operation that saw detectives follow them in what turned out to have been a planned robbery attack.
Whilst the government has been resolute on ending extra-judicial killings, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has on several occasions affirmed that officers who use lethal force within the law while dealing with miscreants will be defended.
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Appearing before the Members of Parliament in April, the CS said his ministry would encourage officers to use available means to protect themselves from armed criminals.
“We have told our police officers that any officer who uses their firearms to enforce law and order and to defend themselves from being hurt by criminals in the manner in which the Constitution and the law allows, we will defend those officers openly,” Kindiki noted.
