By The Weekly Vision Reporter
A breakthrough in the investigation into the brutal killing of a police officer in Thika has led to the arrest of five suspects, including a Burundian national, after detectives traced a mobile phone recovered at the crime scene.
Constable Benard Koome Ithai, attached to Thika Police Station’s Special Patrol Unit (SPIV), was shot dead on 18 June while confronting a suspicious motorcycle rider with a concealed number plate at the interchange of Thika Road and Garissa Road.
The turning point in the investigation came when detectives recovered a SAMHE mobile phone at the scene of the shooting. The phone, paired with an Airtel SIM card registered in the name of Kelvin Mbilika Ollingo, provided critical leads. An analysis of call data records (CDR) revealed frequent communication between Ollingo and two other individuals, John Irungu and Joseph Ngotho Karanja, alias ‘Joe’.
Detectives traced Mpesa transactions linked to the suspects and discovered that on the day of the murder, a Sh1,000 fuel payment was made at a Total petrol station in Ruiru. CCTV footage from the station identified Joseph Karanja as the individual making the payment. He was driving a Nissan Sylphy registered to Jacinta Njeri Ngotho.
Karanja was arrested in Kahawa West, where he was found in possession of a valid firearm certificate and a passport belonging to another individual, Walter K. Mungai. Further arrests followed. Police apprehended Benjamin Kambo Mwangi, Athanaze Ndacayisaba (a Burundian national), and Samuel Efetsa Imulady, who was found in possession of a motor vehicle registration number KDQ 529W, believed to have been used by the suspects. A fifth suspect, Philip Muiruri Muchiri, was arrested in Kiamumbi.
According to police reports, Constable Koome and his colleagues, Constables Patrick Githimu and James Ngumbao, had been on routine patrol near PCEA Thika Town Church when they noticed a suspicious motorcycle, black and of Dayun make, with a concealed number plate.
As the officers approached the rider, who was eating a pineapple by the roadside, he initially appeared to cooperate by kneeling and pretending to surrender. However, he suddenly drew a pistol and shot Koome in the neck before fleeing the scene while firing indiscriminately.
Constable Ngumbao, who was unarmed, retrieved Koome’s pistol, and together with Constable Githimu, pursued the assailant on foot. The armed suspect later hijacked a motorcycle (registration number KMDJ 043R) at gunpoint from a boda boda rider, Martin Mburu Muhoro, and fled towards Section 2, abandoning the stolen motorcycle in a nearby thicket.
During the pursuit, the assailant dropped a Cezka pistol magazine loaded with seven rounds of 9mm ammunition. Detectives also recovered two spent cartridges at the scene and the original motorcycle (KMFP 601F) used by the attacker.
Constable Koome was rushed to Thika Nursing Home, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Investigations are ongoing as police continue to build a case against the suspects, who are expected to face charges related to murder, illegal possession of firearms, and conspiracy to commit a felony.
The incident has sparked renewed calls for better protection of officers in the line of duty and heightened concerns over the rising levels of armed crime in urban centres.
