Poly loses equipment to robbers in police uniform

Electronic equipment released by the government for Maseno Youth Polytechnic has been stolen.

A vehicle hired from Nairobi to transport the equipment, which included a monitor, computer, printer and air compressor, was hijacked near Kisian Town in Kisumu District at 1am on Thursday.

An instructor at the polytechnic, Mr Victor Oketch, said he had gone to the offices of the Ministry of Youth Affairs with a list of equipment for the institution but found that most of it had been issued to other polytechnics.

The driver of the hired van, Mr Erick Angoya, said eight armed men dressed as police officers stopped him near Kisian.

“The moment I stopped the vehicle, they jumped in, ordered us to move to the back seat and covered us with the cartons containing the equipment,” said Mr Angoya.

Their hands were tied.

The gangsters then drove the vehicle to an unknown place and offloaded the equipment. Later they drove back to the road with their captives still on the back seat.

“They were talking among themselves and suggesting that they should kill us or throw us into the river. We were defenceless because they had taken our phones, shoes, money and other personal belongings,” said Mr Oketch.

At around 3.30am, the gangsters used the van to block a bus destined for Busia and robbed passengers.

Game trophies

In another case, a 37-year-old man in Malindi was arrested when he attempted to sell game trophies to Kenya Wildlife Service officers posing as customers.

The officers pounced on him minutes before he delivered a consignment of trophies to Malindi airport on Thursday. The suspected dealer was found in possession of three python skins and two leopard skins valued at Sh100,000.

“One of the python skins was the biggest to be recovered in more than five years,” said deputy warden in charge of Malindi Marine Park Stephen Kamerino.