In a dramatic mid-morning incident on Tuesday, December 9, police officers shot and killed two suspected armed robbers along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD). The shootout, which occurred shortly before noon near the Moi Avenue-Kenyatta Avenue junction, unfolded as detectives, acting on intelligence, confronted a gang believed to have just committed a robbery in the area.
Eyewitnesses reported that a five-man gang had allegedly attacked a man moments after he exited a nearby building, seizing an undisclosed sum of cash. Plainclothes police officers from Nairobi Central Police Station, who had been monitoring the area and had spotted the group trailing the victim, quickly intervened. When the suspects attempted to flee and brandished knives at the officers, police opened fire, fatally wounding two of them.
Central OCPD Stephene Nyakombo (also referred to as Philemon Nyakumbo) confirmed the incident, stating that a manhunt has been launched for the remaining suspects, three of whom managed to escape, with one believed to have sustained gunshot injuries. Police were forced to use tear gas to disperse large crowds that gathered at the scene before the bodies were removed for autopsy.
This incident is the latest in a concerning pattern of daylight robberies in the Moi Avenue–National Archives area, often targeting individuals who have just withdrawn money from banks. Just last month, on November 13, an Embassava Matatu Sacco official was robbed of Sh500,000 after leaving Equity Bank’s Moi Avenue branch.
Detectives suspect that some of these robberies involve collusion between criminals and individuals with access to information inside banks or workplaces. Nairobi Region Police Commander George Sedah has assured residents that Nairobi remains safe, despite a recent surge in crime, and urged the public to report mugging cases.
Police have intensified security operations in the CBD, deploying undercover units to curb the rising crime, especially during the festive season.
