Kenya: 15 Suspected Gang Members Arrested, Crude Weapons Seized in Kisumu

What the report says

Police in Kenya have arrested 15 suspected gang members and seized crude weapons in a coordinated operation along the Kisumu-Kericho highway, according to Capital FM, distributed by AllAfrica. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations said the arrests followed intelligence that a group believed to be carrying weapons was heading toward Kisumu in three vehicles.

Detectives from the DCI Operations Support Unit worked with the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau in Nyanza and DCI Kisumu Central to intercept the vehicles. The group was travelling in a grey Toyota Noah and two white Toyota Hiace vans that were operating on the Kisumu-Migori route under the Nyakija Classic Shuttle name.

Police said they recovered mobile phones and several items thought to be linked to criminal activity, including machetes, pangas, knives, ropes and a metal rod or club. One suspect, identified by investigators as Oliver Jaoko, also known as Oliveti, escaped during the operation after allegedly jumping from a vehicle window. The remaining suspects and the seized items were taken into custody as police continued efforts to locate him.

The DCI said the operation was meant to disrupt criminal networks before attacks could occur. The report added that the arrests came a few hours after a planned rally in Homa Bay, though no link between the two events was stated.