Police officer charged with stealing super machine gun from station

A police officer based in Maralal, Samburu County was on Thursday, charged with stealing a colleague’s official firearm. 

Constable Peter Mutembei was also charged with burglary and handling stolen property, alongside two civilians; John Kanana and Alice Wanjiru.

They, however, denied the charges before Maralal Principal Magistrate James Wanyanga and were each released on a Sh150,000 bond.

Mr Mutembei was arrested by detectives in Maralal town and he was in the company of the other suspects.

Detectives recovered the AK-47 rifle which was reported missing by his colleague, Lawrence Lekenit.

The three were charged that on the night of June 4, at Maralal Police Line in Samburu Central, jointly broke and entered the dwelling place of Police Constable Lawrence Lekenit and stole one AK-47 loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition. The prosecution told the court that the firearm was the property of the Kenya Police Service and was worth Sh103,000.

“The firearm was the property of the Kenya Police Service and was issued to Police Constable Lawrence Lekenit for official duties,” the prosecution side told the Maralal court.

Mr Lekenit is said to have left the firearm at his house but when he came back he found the house broken into and the gun missing. He reported the matter to the Officer Commanding Maralal police station (OCS) who immediately constituted a team to search for the gun in all the houses at the police line, leading to the arrest of Mr Mutembei.

Mutembei and the two others, however, denied the offences and were released on Sh150,000 bond. The case will be heard on August 3, 2022.