DCI Cops Pose As Mukombero Traders, Bust Robbers Terrorising 3 Counties

Two suspects believed to be behind the recent armed attacks against innocent civilians in Kakamega, Vihiga and Uasin-Gishu Counties were arrested on Monday, May 22.

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations' (DCI) elite Crime Research & Intelligence Bureau (CRIB), arrested the suspects in Kakamega, following a chase that culminated at River Lwatingu where the main suspect was arrested before he plunged into the river’s waters, to evade justice. 

According to the DCI report, the officers posed as mukombero and jua kali traders and patrolled the streets as well as many drinking joints of Kakamega in search of the suspect, before making their final move that also led to the recovery of a firearm.

A homestead where a pistol was recovered from on May 22, 2023, in Kakamega. /DCI

The bloodthirsty suspects Patrick Mangale, 30 and Denis Indeche, 24, who masterminded several armed robberies in Kakamega had on April 9, attacked a senior DCI officer and hacked his head several times leaving him unconscious, in a pool of blood.  

"The officer based at DCI Kakamega North had just arrived at his residence at around 3 am from an assignment in Nairobi when the thugs who were on a motorbike accosted him at his gate. They descended on him with a machete inflicting several deep cuts on his head before fleeing into the darkness with his Jericho pistol, which was loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition.

"Armed with the stolen firearm, the thugs abandoned the machete as their preferred weapon and went on a robbery spree, targeting mobile money shops and pump stations. On April 11, at around 9:30 pm, the duo staged an attack at Aziz petrol station in Shibuli shopping centre and left with an unknown amount of money," stated the DCI in part.

Two days later, the suspects attacked a gold dealer in Lwanugu village and took off with Ksh55,000, eight grams of gold, mobile phones and other valuables.

This is after they ordered everyone at the gold mining site to lie down and not raise an alarm. Nobody was injured in the incident.

In yet another incident on April 20, at around 10 pm, the gun-toting thugs raided a mobile money shop at Mudete market in Maragoli and took off with an unspecified amount of money and mobile phones.

"On sensing that detectives had launched a manhunt for them in Western Kenya, the miscreants who were lucky to escape several police dragnets fled to Uasin Gishu County, where they continued with their activities targeting shops and other businesses. 

"In one of the attacks, two innocent civilians suffered gunshot injuries on their hands and legs, as the thugs raided a shop at Elgon View estate in Eldoret and made away with cash," added the DCI.

Following the arrest of the main suspect Patrick Mangale, he led the sleuths to a toilet at his homestead in Lower Tingu, Mugulu area, where the firearm loaded with two rounds of 9mm calibre was recovered hidden in a pit latrine.

The detectives also impounded a red motorbike registration number KMGG 124M, which was believed to have been the gang’s getaway means. 

Meanwhile, the suspects are currently in custody at Kakamega police station, as detectives interrogate them for more information on their operations.

DCI detectives on bikes during a training session on Friday, April 21, 2023. /DCI