Cop, seven others killed in city fire exchange with deadly Eastleigh gang group

A policeman has been shot dead by suspected thugs he had been pursuing in Kayole, Nairobi, with eight others also being shot dead by police during patrols to tame crime in the city.

According to the police, Police Constable Boniface Okech from Soweto Police Station was shot after one of the gunmen jumped out of the house where they had been cornered opening fire and fatally shooting him (Okech).

The deceased officer’s colleagues, however, fired back and gunned down the suspect and recovered a homemade gun with 12 bullets while his accomplices managed to escape from the scene.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, Nairobi police boss, Japheth Koome, said the gang had been on a robbery spree before they were accosted by his officers prompting a chase that turned fatal.

Koome further issued a stern warning saying that police will not sit and watch police officers and Kenyans being killed by thugs.

“Tell other gangsters their days are numbered,” warned Koome. “We will be ruthless to gunmen who kill innocent Kenyans.”

This comes just a day after a video capturing armed officers shooting dead a young suspect who had surrendered as a crowd watched went viral triggering reactions from different quotas.

According to the police boss, the gang was part of the members of the “Superpower Gang” that operates in Eastleigh terrorizing locals for money.

Koome further indicated that he gang has been behind a series of robbery incidents in the area adding that police have information showing they were behind the killing of three people including a police officer and physically challenged man in Kayole.

Koome was keen to note that he stood by his officers who were behind the incident further warning gangsters to either abandon their criminal activities or get killed.

On Friday, police shot dead three other suspects in Pangani area in a botched robbery.

The suspects had been mugging and robbing residents when an alarm was raised alerting police.