- The guard was hacked to death when thugs raided an electrical shop and stole valuables on Sunday night.
- His colleague is fighting for his life at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Image: THE STAR
A security guard has been murdered in a robbery incident at the Riat junction area in Kisumu West subcounty.
The guard was hacked to death when thugs raided an electrical shop and stole valuables on Sunday night at about 1 am.
His colleague is fighting for his life at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital.
He was stabbed in the stomach and cut on his face. The body of the deceased was taken to the hospital’s mortuary.
Locals have blamed the police for laxity in addressing the increased cases of insecurity in the area. They said the thugs target shops.
Two weeks ago, thugs attacked a Mpesa shop and robbed the operator of Sh400,000 at about 8pm.
In the same period, criminals also raided a bar and restaurant and stole a 65-inch flat TV set and other valuables at Riat Junction.
The bar owner said despite the available CCTV footage which captured the faces of the thugs, police have done little to arrest them.
“We are now trading in fear. Businesses have been affected in the area,” she said.
John Ochieng, a resident, said police should heighten patrol in the area for maximum security.
“It is unfortunate that residents are being terrorized with little being done,” he said.
He also called for a total overhaul of police officers who have overstayed in the area.
“Some of the officers are only focusing on arresting motorcycle operators who respond to distress calls instead of real culprits,’ Ochieng said.
Kisumu West OCPD Julius Meli did not respond to calls or reply to text messages over the incident.
In February, two people including a police officer from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) were stabbed to death by suspected criminals in the Riat area.
Police said the two incidents which occurred in different locations within Riat happened around 11 pm.
The officer was off duty then, police said.
According to police, in the first incident, a 20-year-old man was waylaid by a gang of four men on a motorbike who stabbed him.
He was pronounced dead on arrival in hospital.
In the second incident, the 42-year-old male DCI officer who is based in Nairobi, was also attacked by the same gang as he was walking home.
Police said the two victims suffered several visible stab wounds on their bodies.
Nothing was stolen from either of them by the assailants.
The motive of the attack is yet to be known. A team of detectives is investigating the murder.
DCI officers in Kisumu West subcounty were investigating the matter as the four suspects are still at large, police said.