Suspected hardcore criminal killed in Homa Bay shootout identified

The scene where the suspected criminals were killed at Got Kokech Village, Homa Bay sub-county, on June 15, 2024. One of the two suspected hardcore criminals who were killed in a fierce bullet shootout with police in Homa Bay has been identified. [James Omoro, Standard]

One of the two suspected hardcore criminals who were killed in a fierce bullet shootout with police in Homa Bay County has been identified.

The suspect has been identified as Eli Onyango Otieno, a resident of Lela Village, Nyando Sub-county in Kisumu County.

Otieno was identified after police took his fingerprints for analysis.

He was killed on Saturday evening alongside his accomplices in the Got Kokech area along the Homa Bay-Kendu Bay road in Homa Bay Sub-county. Police believe that the suspects were operating together.

Homa Bay sub-county Directorate of Criminal Investigations Officer Charles Koilenge said Otieno was identified on Monday.

But Otieno's colleagues have not been identified as their bodies are still at Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary.

The two were suspected to have been part of a gang that had been maiming and robbing residents of Kisumu, Kericho, and Homa Bay Counties.

It was reported that the suspects had been on police radar for some time.

On Saturday, police from Homa Bay Police Station collaborating with their counterparts from the other counties managed to locate the gangsters at a hotel in Homa Bay town.

However, when police went to the hotel, they found the gangsters had left and were escaping in a private car that was driving towards Kendu Bay town.

Koilege said their officers trailed the suspects and attempted to stop them at Got Kokech, however, they sped off while firing at the officers.

The police officers fired back, killing the suspects on the spot. "These people have been on police radar for some time. We discovered they spent Friday night in a hotel in Homa Bay town," Koilege said.

They were also accused of stealing a pistol from a police officer in Kisumu County. In Kericho County, the suspects were accused of robbing a civilian of his officially licensed firearm.

"They were believed to be dangerous people because we have found them with the pistol which they stole from an officer in Kisumu. They also robbed another person in Kericho of a private gun," Koilege said.

The police boss said the suspects were also found with television screens, several cheques, and mobile phones believed to have been stolen.

He said they are still investigating the incident. Their vehicle was towed to Homa Bay Police Station.

"The matter is still under investigation and we will take their fingerprints for identification purposes," he added.

Koilege urged hotel owners to be keen on registering the identity of their customers.