Kindiki: Why Police Didn't Stop 10 Gunmen From Raiding Hospital For Patient

Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki on Wednesday, April 12 explained why police did not take action to prevent a suspected bandit from being rescued from Iten Referral Hospital by a gang of 10 gunmen.

While appearing before the National Assembly, Kindiki revealed that the bandit had sought medical assistance from the hospital after he suffered a gunshot wound, but did not disclose where, or how he was shot.

The Interior CS further corroborated a police report on the matter seen by Viral Tea which revealed that the bandit was under heavy police protection, with the contingent of officers consisting of officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) assigned to protect him.

The gang of 10 men, according to Kindiki, had gained access to the facility through the fence on a rescue mission of the bandit, avoiding a potential shootout by the police officers who were unable to act owing to the presence of patients, who would have been killed in the gun battle.

The entrance to Iten County Referral Hospital in Elgeyo-Marakwet County. /DAILY NATION

"There was an incident at Iten Hospital, the person involved is a suspected bandit because he had bullet wounds and he could not explain where he was shot and he just came to look for treatment and we believe the people who came to rescue him were criminals because they came through the fence of the hospital so they just came perhaps to rescue one of their own who was hurt and could not explain.

"The reason why that happened notwithstanding the presence of a few police officers who were on-site at that time was the determination by the Commanding Officer on-site that a shootout inside that facility would have caused fatalities on patients. That gave leeway for the rescue to succeed," he stated.

Kindiki however promised that security forces were actively hunting down the bandit that was rescued by the gunmen with the aim of arresting him.

"I want to confirm to the House, through you, Mr Speaker, that this person has been on police radar even before this attack. We are on him, we have some leads, we believe we shall arrest him as soon as possible," he told National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetangula.

During the raid, six of the men armed with AK47 rifles had joined the group of 10 gunmen who invaded the ward and escaped with the patient, away from the watchful eyes of the police officers. None of the police officers nor the armed men sustained any injury during the well-organised raid.

"At about 0210 hours, a group of ten young men, six of whom were armed with AK47 rifles stormed the ward. They smashed windows and managed to rescue the patient from police officers," the OB No. 02 of 10/04/2023 read in part.

Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich thereafter called on the government to deploy Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit (CIPU) to guard the hospital.

During the same grilling, Kindiki expressed hope in reviving the police air wing in the next three months, and to have acquired at least three gunship helicopters and some unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), that is drones, for the National Police Service (NPS).

Explaining the reasons for the sporadic bandit attacks, Kindiki assured that his Ministry was doing everything possible to reach a finality to the problem, adding that "It cannot be done in a month or a year, but we will get there. We appeal for patience and understanding”.

Kindiki asserted that all instances of extrajudicial killings are actively under investigation, and the policy of President William Ruto's administration has zero tolerance for extrajudicial killings, adding that no officer who misuses their firearm to kill people will be protected.

"There are no shoot-to-kill orders. All officers involved in managing public protests, demonstrations, riots and crowd control are under very strict instructions not to use live bullets when dealing with members of the public," he went on.

Regarding the death of Chuka bodaboda chairman Willis Mugambi, Kindiki stated that the government has transferred the area OCPD to carry out investigations on whether a police officer might have fired a live bullet that killed him.

“The reason the OCPD was transferred is that there were very strict orders given by the Inspector General of Police that there should be no live bullets used in crowd control, not just in Chuka but even in other protests. We want to establish when the OCPD is not in office if indeed it’s a police officer who fired that bullet against the orders and the policy of the government,” Kindiki added.