Ex-Cop Suspended From GSU Steals Guns From Police Camp

Two police firearms that had been stolen from a General Service Unit (GSU) camp in Kopsiro, Bungoma County, on August 23, 2023, have been recovered and the main suspect was arrested. 

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) revealed on Sunday, September 3 that the G3 rifles, one of which was loaded with 20 rounds of 7.62mm caliber disappeared mysteriously from the Korngotuny GSU camp.

The disappearance led to an operation by the detectives drawn from DCI's elite Crime Research & Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) to recover them.

Isaac Wanzala, a former GSU officer arrested by DCI detectives on September 3, 2023. /DCI

After conducting comprehensive investigations and analysis, the detectives identified the main suspect behind the disappearance, Isaac Wanzala, a former GSU officer currently suspended from the service on disciplinary grounds. 

The suspect who hails from Mabonge Village in Nambale, Busia County, is believed to have sneaked into Korngotuny GSU camp on the night the firearms disappeared and left with them undetected. 

A raid was conducted at the suspect’s home on Sunday at dawn, prompting the thug to sneak into a nearby sugarcane plantation to evade arrest. 

"But the officers who were determined to arrest him mounted a spirited search that lasted for hours in the vast field of sugarcane and finally smoked him out.

"The thug who appeared not to have forgotten his concealment lessons at the paramilitary unit had utilized the available thick cover of the cane in an attempt to deceive our men but gave up when the detectives deployed plan B of their operation," stated the DCI in part.

After being apprehended, the suspect led the officers to the banks of River Sio, which snakes close to his father’s land where the firearms were buried on the ground.

The suspect is currently in custody pending arraignment in court as DCI launched investigations into the incident.

Stealing a firearm with the intent of using it in criminal activities, according to Kenyan law, carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

Stealing ammunition on the other hand warrants a 10-year jail sentence.