Five suspects charged with robbery with violence escaped from Limuru Police Station in Kiambu County on Wednesday night after overpowering officers on duty, Pulse Live Kenya reported. Kenyans.co.ke also reported the escape. Security agencies have launched a manhunt.
The escape happened at about 11pm on November 4, according to a police report cited by Pulse Live Kenya. Duty officers had opened the main male holding cells to move 10 detainees to an inner holding room. Moments after leaving the cell, the suspects turned on the officers and fought their way out.
Losing control, the officers raised the alarm and called for backup. The suspects attacked several of the officers who came to help. They then broke out of the station compound and vanished into the night. The report does not say how many officers were hurt or how badly.
A team of Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers from headquarters in Nairobi went to Limuru to work with local police. Investigators are reviewing the sequence of events, following leads and searching nearby areas, Pulse Live Kenya reported. DCI teams told residents they would bring the five back into custody. They also pledged to establish accountability within the station.
The Limuru breakout closely mirrors an escape in Embu County a few weeks earlier. On October 24, four suspects escaped from Itabua Police Station. They were being held over serious crimes, including murder, robbery with violence and grand theft. They dug through the wall of their cell and slipped out unnoticed by the officers on duty.
Officers discovered the Itabua escape the next morning during a shift change and headcount. They blew whistles to alert nearby officers. Searches around the station and nearby neighbourhoods failed to find the four.
Pulse Live Kenya reported growing scrutiny of security in police cells, night-shift staffing and the state of station buildings. Security experts and human rights observers are asking whether decaying buildings, compromised officers or lax procedures are behind the escapes. Police headquarters has urged the public to stay alert and report anyone suspicious to the nearest police station.