Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives have arrested a notorious gang leader behind M-Pesa shop attacks in Nairobi.
John Mutiso Makau alias Katitu was arrested after a three-kilometer chase in Kayole.
According to police, Katitu returned from Somalia where he underwent combat and martial arts training.
"The suspect believed to be a returnee from the Alshabaab militia in Somalia was arrested after a dramatic chase in Nairobi’s Kayole estate, pitting detectives from the elite Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, backed up by a contingent of officers from Kayole police division.
"In the 48-hour meticulously planned operation, detectives had prior to Katitu’s arrest rounded up two of his accomplices Brian Wambua Mbindyo and Danson Musyoka Mulee," DCI said in a statement.
Police operation
The operation was led by Chief Inspector Gicharu (real name withheld).
"Hadn’t the lead investigator Chief Inspector Gicharu (real name withheld) outpaced the miscreant in the sweltering afternoon heat, the thug believed to have received combat and martial arts training in neighbouring Somalia, would have detoured to one of the dingy lanes in Kayole’s matopeni settlement and disappeared from the detectives’ sight.
"However, Gicharu, who has spent most of his career chasing after armed city thugs and has as a result received the head of state commendation, disembarked from their vehicle and went after Katitu breathing down his neck with determination, before finally pouncing on him after a 3-kilometre chase," DCI stated.
The detectives were in hot pursuit of the suspect after a gruesome murder of a man in Donholm.
During the incident, the thugs shot him four times before snatching a carrier bag containing money.
"Trouble for the thugs started when the headquarters’ based sleuths gathered sufficient actionable intelligence regarding their whereabouts, following the gruesome killing of a man who was shot at four times in broad daylight, seconds after walking out of a bank in Donholm, on October 31, 2022.
"In the incident that attracted countrywide attention, the gun-toting thugs had pumped four bullets into Nicodemus Mbuvi Munyasya, who was walking out of Donholm’s Family bank carrying a carrier bag, killing him on the spot," DCI added.
The 38-year-old accounts clerk at extra paints manufacturing limited had deposited a cheque in the bank and was walking out carrying two disposable cups in a carrier bag.
Immediately he stepped out of the banking hall, two thugs on a motorbike accosted him and a scuffle ensued as the thugs snatched the bag from Munyasia, assuming that it contained a wad of cash.
When Munyasia resisted, he was shot four times, three times on his legs and once in his chest by the fleeing thugs.
Forensic Crime Scene detectives recovered one spent cartridge and one bullet head at the scene.
Three days before the incident, the suspects had accosted a woman as she left her Mpesa shop in Umoja estate, and shot her in the ankle before taking possession of her handbag which contained an unspecified amount of money.
Regina Chege, was approaching the gate to her house at around 9:30 pm when the thugs on a motorbike struck.
This incident was similar to one reported at Embakasi police station on October 19, where one Dennis Musyoki and his wife who operates an M-Pesa outlet were attacked at gunpoint as they walked home.
