Police Arrest Chief Inspector For Selling Bullets To Kenyans

The National Police Service (NPS) has announced the arrest of a chief inspector who was found to be selling ammunition to criminals illegally.

In a statement, NPS revealed on Monday, April 22 that the inspector was arrested alongside a police constable. Both are from the Anti-Stock Theft Unit.

The arrest followed the recovery of 2,658 rounds of ammunition in Laikipia County as reported vide the NPS official social media platforms on April 18, 2024, in which a man and his wife were arrested.

"Two more suspects namely No. 235135 Chief Inspector Joel Warui Githaiga and No. 114573 Police Constable Martin Murimi from Anti-Stock Theft Unit Sondu Camp have also been arrested for the sale of ammunition to criminals," stated NPS in part.

The officers were arraigned in court on Monday in a miscellaneous application seeking custody of the accused persons for 4 days which was granted.

All four suspects will now appear before Kibera Law Court on Friday, April 26, 2024, while the Officers remain suspended from the National Police Service with immediate effect.

"The Service would like to caution members of the public from engaging in unauthorized purchase, possession, manufacture and sale of firearms and ammunition and instead report any such criminal activities to the nearest police station or through our toll-free numbers; 999,911,112 or #FichuakwaDCI 0800722203.

"In addition, we wish to assure the public that stern action will be taken against any Officer involved in such unethical conduct regardless of rank. The National Police Service reiterates its commitment to strive for the highest standard of professionalism," added the statement.

Cases of police officers colluding with criminals for the sale of ammunition and weapons have been rife, bringing the integrity of the police force mandated to enforce law and order in the country as well as to protect Kenyans into question.

This came into the national limelight following a Citizen TV expose dubbed Guns Galore, with investigative journalist Purity Mwambia revealing how a section of police officers lent their weapons and uniforms to thugs, abetting crime syndicates in the process.

The piece gave a crude look into how corrupt police officers gave their guns, uniforms, and handcuffs to criminals to commit crimes in return for a cut from the criminal proceedings, with charges ranging between Ksh1,000 and Ksh200,000.

Former Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti at the time lauded Mwambia and her crew for the report but accused her of not collaborating with the police on the matter.

He noted that Citizen TV's parent company, Royal Media Services (RMS), did not consult the police or relevant stakeholders before airing the piece. 

He also revealed that the guns, ammunition and police uniform allegedly purchased from law enforcers did not belong to the National Police Service (NPS).