A gang is on the run after shooting and seriously injuring a man during a robbery on Wednesday afternoon in Embakasi area, Nairobi.
The gang riding on a motorcycle shot the man before robbing him of Sh1.1 million in a dramatic incident.
This brings to at least four such cases reported in Nairobi in the last one week, in which about Sh2 million has been stolen.
Embakasi Sub-County Police Commander John Nyamu said the victim had withdrawn the cash from a bank in Donholm before he was intercepted by gunmen riding on a motorcycle at the Cabanas area.
This prompted a struggle before the victim was shot in the groin as the gang grabbed the money.
“We want to know how they knew he went for the money. The gang is on the run but we will get them,” Nyamu said.
The victim boarded a matatu to Taj Mall where he alighted and took a boda boda to Cabanas for some transactions when the incident happened, giving an indication the gang had trailed him.
“As he was crossing the road, he was confronted by armed men riding on a motorbike. They demanded the bag containing the cash but he resisted, prompting the shooting. We are looking for the rider who dropped him at the scene for interrogation,” a police officer said.
A gang targeting people leaving banks is on a mission.
Last week, another gang of three robbed a man Sh414,000 that he had withdrawn from a bank in Utawala, Nairobi.
The victim who is an administrator of a computer school in Mihango area had withdrawn the money from a bank and took an Uber back to the school when a car that had been trailing him blocked their way and hijacked them at about 2 pm.
The armed men took control of the car and drove towards Karagita area near Nairobi River where they dumped both the driver and the victim before escaping with the money.
In a similar failed incident, an accountant working at a local academy in Karen escaped being robbed Sh100,000 he had withdrawn from a bank in Galleria mall.
The accountant told police that people who had tried to block his way along Bogani Road claimed to be police officers but he drove past their blockade avoiding the robbery.
Police are investigating the latest incidents, with preliminary investigations revealing that it could have been an inside job.
The police have now warned members of the public against carrying large sums of money, especially this festive season.
The victims are followed from the bank after withdrawals have been made or some are followed to their residences or places of work where they can be easily robbed.
Officials say not all customers and bank staff within are genuine.
Some of them pose as customers in order to identify customers making huge withdrawals before they alert their accomplices outside the bank. The racket involves bank staff, police and other robbers, according to the police.
Some of these robbers not only have guns but also handcuffs and what are suspected to be a police radio and are said to be using different vehicles.
