GSU inspector arrested after bullet cache found in vehicle

An Inspector of Police was yesterday arrested in connection to a mysterious shooting and recovery of over 2,000 rounds of ammunition along the Eastern bypass Nairobi on Tuesday night. Inspector David Okoth Opiyo, attached to the GSU Training School, was interrogated amid reports that the 2,640 rounds of similar ammunition recovered from Laikipia county three weeks ago could also have originated from the same institution. So far, over 4,600 rounds of ammunition –all believed to be from the training school now referred to as the National Police Service Embakasi-B Campus - have been recovered, putting the 73-year-old unit that has for years been associated with highly trained officers and discipline, on the spot- light. On Tuesday night, police officers responding to a distress call along the Eastern Bypass recovered the bullets inside a vehicle at a garage. According to an eyewitness Chrispine Otieno, a mechanic, an unknown gunman stormed a garage opposite Be Energy Pet- rol Station and shot at a Mitsubishi Lancer registration number KAT 887G at the park- ing lot. Recovered bullets Officers from Kayole Police Station visited the scene and recovered the bullets packed in 34 boxes containing 60 bullets each, in the car. They also established that the Mitsubishi Lancer had 20 bullet holes on the right rear door with glass windows shuttered. The vehicle was later found to belong to the GSU Inspector at the school, “We are grilling him to establish where the cache of ammunition was to be taken to,” a senior officer told People Daily yesterday. Police headquarters yesterday said the officer will be charged today with being in possession of ammunition contrary to the Firearms Act. Detectives will however request more time from the court to detain him as they conclude investigations into the shooting of his car. The latest incidents, mostly involving GSU officers, have become a major concern to security officials. Sources say some of the officers perceived to be rogue have also disappeared in unclear circumstances. The paramilitary wing of the police, initially created as the Emergency Company, has fought in a number of conflicts includ- ing the 1982 coup and the 1963 to 1969 Shifta War. In 1961, the unit was deployed to deal with civil unrest in Zanzibar. Currently, it has several companies including the Ruiru-based Recce and the Presidential Guard Company. At least six of the past commandants of GSU - Ben Gethi, David Kimaiyo, Mathew Iteere, and Joel Kitili Mboya - rose to head the police service. That notwithstanding however, in the last one year, a number of cases involving the unit have raised concerns among the security officials. At least three current and former GSU officers have been killed in unclear circumstances while three others have been abducted and are yet to be traced even as reports indicate that a number of them have been involved in criminal activities. On August 21, security officers recovered 2,640 rounds of ammunition from a group of herders in the ongoing Laikipia operations. Police headquarters said the bullets were recovered by rangers from the West Gate Community Conservancy, just after a group of herders attacked a team of police reservists in an ambush near Ewaso Nyoro river in the area. The body of Corporal Joseph Maghanga was found at a quarry opposite Triple O’s Restaurant.

GSU inspector arrested after bullet cache found in vehicle

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GSU inspector arrested after bullet cache found in vehicle

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