Police shoot, kill suspect after 30-minute siege in Mathare slums

A suspected gunman was shot and killed in a confrontation with police in Nairobi’s Mathare slums.

The incident happened on Tuesday night in a drama that ended up in a residential house in Mathare North Area Three.

Police said they had been informed there was an armed man who was threatening locals using a pistol. 

He had also been mentioned in a case of robbery with violence.

Police said a team on patrol responded to the scene prompting the gunman to escape into the first floor of a house where he stayed put prompting a dramatic siege.

Nairobi police commander Adamson Bungei said the man shot at the police officers as part of efforts to seek refuge in the residential house.

The team pursued him into the house where they fatally injured him after a siege of about 30 minutes, locals said.

A Falcon pistol with one live bullet was recovered from the suspect in the drama.

An empty cartridge was recovered from the scene and the suspect was identified as Kenneth Mwangi Njeri.

Police said the body was moved to the mortuary pending further investigations.

In Kikuyu, Kiambu County, police shot and deflated the tyres of a lorry that was escaping from a roadblock.

The lorry was later found to be overloaded with 7,800 kilograms.

Police said the driver had been flagged along the Rironi-Nairobi highway but declined to stop prompting a chase.

As both vehicles were climbing a steep section of the road, the lorry stalled and reversed and crashed the mobile vehicle.

This prompted police on board to jump out of the moving mobile vehicle and shoot the right rear left tyre to stall it.

When the driver realised the tyre had been punctured, he jumped out and escaped to an unknown destination, police said.

The lorry was later found to be overloaded, police said adding it was driven to the local police station pending investigations.

Roads agencies say overload attracts heavy fines.