Notorious robbery gang arrested after deadly crime spree in Gem

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested three notorious robbery suspects after a string of violent incidents that have plagued Gem Yala sub-county and its neighboring areas.

The suspects - Albert Otieno, Farid Kimutai, and John Okumu - had been on the run following a series of brutal attacks, including a deadly robbery on January 3, 2025.

On that fateful night, they stormed a timber yard and hardware store near Ulumbi Junction along the Kisumu-Busia highway, murdered the 40-year-old night watchman Jesse Kalasinga before making away with an assortment of hardware goods.

“In a shocking display of brutality, on January 20, 2025, at Nyang’oma Market, the three together with their accomplices vandalized a transformer, causing a power outage in the said market,” the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said in a statement.

“They thereafter ruthlessly killed the watchman, Absalom Sande, aged 29, and seriously injured another, Francis Nyambese, aged 42, before breaking into a phone accessories shop and stealing a Dell laptop, three smartphones, and other valuables.”

The gang struck again nine days later at Yala Market where they brutally attacked and fatally injured security guards Jesse Otieno, 35, and Edward Ochieng, 40.

Afterwards, they then raided a shop and stole airtime scratch cards, smartphones, and other merchandise.