- Tongoyo told police that while he was on Charles Rubia Road, heading to Nyamakima, he was stopped by three uniformed police officers.
- He was handcuffed and accused of loitering with the intent to commit a crime.
Image: FILE
Details have emerged of how four police officers trailed and robbed a trader of Sh373,000 in Nairobi moments after he had sold meat he ferried from Narok.
The officers were Friday arrested after they robbed the beef trader of cash in Kamkunji, Nairobi.
He had slaughtered his 12 cows and delivered the meat to Nairobi, which he sold to a butcher in Burma market.
Businessman William Tongoyo had only hours earlier sold the meat, which he had ferried from Narok to Burma market and sold in cash before walking back to the city centre to head back via public transport.
An impromptu police identification parade had to be conducted at the junction of Ronald Ngala and River Road to identify the four rogue officers.
Tongoyo told police that while he was on Charles Rubia Road, heading to Nyamakima, where he was to board a matatu, he was stopped by three uniformed police officers.
He was handcuffed and accused of loitering with the intent to commit a crime.
After his arrest at about 11 am on Friday, June 2, he was taken through a lane he could not recall and where the police officers searched him. One of the officers then grabbed the cash while his colleagues unfastened the handcuff, and told him to go.
He protested in vain as they disappeared into a crowd. He later went to Kamukunji police station and reported his ordeal. This prompted an impromptu search operation led by the Central Subcounty police commander Doris Kimeli, detectives and a team of undercover police officers.
Kimeli ordered that all police officers who had been on the beat within the area report at the junction of River Road and Ronald Ngala Street by midday.
When the complainant was brought to the parade so he could identify any of the officers he said robbed him, he immediately identified one officer.
The officer later identified two of his colleagues who were with him. The three officers were disarmed and escorted to Kamukunji police station, where a fourth officer turned up later and when Tongoyo saw him, he also identified him as one of the four.
All the four were searched, but no significant money was recovered, police said.
They were detained pending further investigations.
This is the latest such incident involving police officers amid calls to address the trend.
Police are usually involved in such crimes but authorities say they are isolated.
Nairobi police chief Adamson Bungei described the robbery as isolated and pledged that such elements will be thrown out of the force.
Bungei said they will investigate and take action.
“This is not what we are. This is an isolated incident and will be acted on it accordingly,” he said.