Thursday, April 13, 2023 – Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has come clean on why police officers did not shoot the bandits who stormed Iten Hospital and recused their wounded colleague who was under 24-hour police watch.
Appearing before the National Assembly, Kindiki revealed that a top officer inside Iten County Referral Hospital ordered cops not to open fire on the bandits to avoid a bloodbath.
He noted that the decision provided a leeway for the bandits to rescue their colleague from the hospital without any fatality.
According to Kindiki, the suspect involved in the incident could not explain to officers why he had gunshot wounds on his body.
“Regarding the incident at Iten Hospital, the person involved is a suspected bandit because he had bullet wounds and could not explain where he was shot and he came to look for treatment.”
“We believe that those who came to rescue him were criminals because they came through the fence to rescue one of their own,” he noted.
“The reason why that happened in presence of police officers on-site at that time was the determination of the commanding officer on site that a shootout inside that facility would have caused fatalities on patients and that gave leeway for the rescue operation to succeed.”
“This person has been on police radar even before the attack. We are on him and we have some leads. We believe we shall arrest him as soon as possible,” he stated.
The rescue operation involved a gang of 10 armed men who stormed Iten Hospital on Monday night and rescued their colleague who was under heavy police protection.
The Kenyan DAILY POST