Armed gangsters kill mother and son

By NIKKO TANUI

Five armed gangsters killed mother and son in Duka Moja area in Kericho County Thursday night.  

Kericho county commissioner Rashid Mohammed said the five gangers who were armed with AK-47 rifles attacked the residence of a prominent Asian business man at 10: 30 PM and sprayed bullets on the deceased, 70 years old Surjeet Kaur Virdee, and her son, Jagjeet Singh Virdee, 50 and robbed them of a wallet and a pistol.

The county commissioner said police officers quickly responded to the family distress calls and engaged the gunmen in fierce fire exchange with some of the robbers who had stationed themselves outside the gate.

He added that the robbers who had gained entry into the compound emerged using other family members of the deceased as human shields and in the ensuing confusion the robbers managed to flee on foot and disappeared into the darkness.

Mr Mohammed said police are treating the matter as robbery with violence and they will conduct thorough investigations with a view of bringing the culprits to book.

A nephew to the deceased, Gurdit Singh Virdee said they had just come from holding family prayers at their Kabianga Tea factory and on coming back to their residence they were accosted by the gangsters at the gate who shot in the air forcing it to be opened and committed the heinous crime.

He added that it was the second time gagsters were raiding the home after the 2011 incident which left one of them dead after police caught up with him in the act.

Members of Kericho County Assembly led by Joel Siele (Kipchebor ward) and Mary Chelangat Betty (nominated) who spoke at the scene condemned the incident and called on the local police to speed up investigations over the matter with a view of arresting the culprits and restore investor confidence in the county.

Siele demanded that police conducts a swoop in the area lest he would mobilize youths to go around and flush out suspicious characters in their area on their own.

The bodies of the deceased were taken to Siloam hospital mortuary.