Police recover firearm used in couple's killing

Nyanza Regional police boss Willy Lugusa holds a gun that was found in a thicket. [Photo: Rushdie Oudia]

Police have found a gun believed to have been used to kill a couple in Nyalenda slums.

The AK-47 rifle had been stolen from one of the officers at the Kisumu Police line.

The firearm and 12 rounds of ammunition were found yesterday in a thicket around Kachok area.

The gunmen raided the home of George Omondi and his wife Jacinta Achieng last week on Thursday and fired eight bullets at the couple, whose bodies were found by neighbours in a pool of blood.

Nyanza Regional Police Coordinator Willy Lugusa said they have been looking for the gun for a while and had launched a search in the entire city.

“We got a tip-off that the criminals might have hidden the firearm in the thicket and only use it when they are going for an operation at night. We thus followed the leads and found the gun,” said Lugusa.

He said police are looking for the suspects, adding they have been using the fire arm to terrorise residents.

Lugusa added they are treating the incident as murder since nothing was stolen from the couple.

“War against criminals is still on. I tried to ask them to surrender but they have not obliged and that is why we are taking the battle to their door step,” said Lugusa, urging residents to report any suspicious character.

Meanwhile, during the search, police also recovered a matatu which had been stolen in Kakamega at a compound in Manyatta.

Also recovered were number plates belonging to unknown vehicles but the suspect was not found in the house during the raid.

The county has witnesses a series of crime, with an incident reported earlier this week in Manyatta where a woman reportedly stabbed her husband to death following a domestic row.