Questions as bandits raid Iten hospital, rescue wounded bandit from police custody

Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wesley Rotich has blamed the police for laxity following a dramatic incident where suspected bandits armed with AK47 rifles stormed the Iten County Referral Hospital and freed one of their own who had been hospitalised under police watch after arrest.

The freed suspect had been placed under hospital arrest after being shot in a gun battle with police.

"This patient had one gunshot wound to the chest. He had been managed from Wednesday last week... He was stable and he was due to be discharged when he was taken," said Dr. Castral Mukala, the Medical Superintendent at the health facility.

The move by the suspected bandits, according to area Governor Rotich, comes after a failed attempt to escape from the hospital ward.

"The patient attempted to escape at around 7 pm but security agents were able to foil the escape attempt," said Rotich.

The incident has drawn sharp criticism as aiding a suspect to escape or freeing a suspect is one of the instances where police are cleared by the national police standing orders to use lethal force.

Police, on their part, say that though the situation warranted the use of lethal force, they chose not to engage to avoid suffering casualties from amongst the patients and hospital staff.

"The officers at the hospital assessed the situation and opted not to open fire since there were many civilians who would have been caught in the crossfire," Iten OCPD Tom Makori said.

What is even more baffling is that there were 10 police officers deployed to secure the suspect, four were in the ward and 6 were manning the main gate; the same gate the armed bandits used to access the hospital, in what the governor terms sabotage by a section of officers.

"Even last week when there was an attack, I called the local police in Arror for almost five hours but it is the military that responded before the officers who were just 2 kilometers away,"  said Rotich.

The man identified as Dennis Kemboi was under investigation over banditry in Kerio Valley and police intended to put him in custody.

His gang members got the better of the police by staging the daring rescue.