A police officer was arrested after he reported the loss of his AK-47 rifle at Kabachi Police Station in Meru County. The officer, who had been issued the weapon on September 1 for night patrols, was supposed to return it the following day but failed to do so. When questioned, he claimed he could not remember how the weapon went missing.
The officer’s failure to return the rifle raised suspicions, and an investigation was launched. The police have expressed hope that the weapon will be recovered, while the officer has been presented in court for custodial orders pending the investigation.
This incident follows a similar case from the previous month, where a police officer in Migori County reported losing his Duma pistol under unclear circumstances at a bar in Kehancha town. In that case, the officer, along with a female companion, was arrested, though the weapon was not found.
Earlier in June, a police pistol that had been missing for several days was discovered abandoned outside the home of a retired cop in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet. The pistol had been issued to a senior officer but was lost after he claimed to have been robbed. An investigation into that case is also ongoing.
The trend of lost or misplaced weapons has raised concerns about the security of police-issued firearms and the accountability of officers in the force.
