Armed youth behead AP officer
Last updated on 14 Sep 2012 15:28
By Tobias Chanji
An Administration Police officer has been beheaded by a group of armed youth in a forest in Kwale County. The slain officer was among security officers flushing out the youth from the forest.
The gang of young men believed to have been staying at Dzombo Forest for the last two days told police they were praying in the forest when they were captured.
According to a witness who sought anonymity, the slain officer had arrested the five men who later turned against him with machetes, killing him and injuring an unidentified villager believed to have informed the police about the gang’s activities in the forest.
Kwale County Commissioner Evans Achoki pointed fingers at the separatist Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) which is active in the area but also said that the killers could be remnants of the militiamen responsible for the massacre of civilians and policemen in Tana Delta.
“…we have a crucial lead that will net the culprits though we cannot rule out the overflow of Tana River suspects or even Mombasa Republican Council (MRC),” said Kwale County Commissioner Evans Achoki on Friday.
MRC Secretary General Hamza Randu immediately denied knowledge of the crime.
Kwale OCPD Richard Muguai said he would issue a statement later as he was still held in the bush pursuing another group.
A local civic leader Benson Mtangili said a group of about forty youth armed with pangas had been camping at Dzombo forest for two days.
“These people have been camping here (in the forest) and they come and buy food in the shops. They have been feasting on goats too,” he said adding that he had informed police of the group’s activities before the bloody incident.