Three police officers, including a bodyguard to Kapseret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi, were arrested in Kitengela, Kajiado, for possession of five elephant tusks.
The officers, alongside a civilian, were detained on Saturday while transporting the tusks, which weigh 29 kilograms and are valued at Ksh 2.9 million. The officers were found with two pistols and 30 bullets at the time of their arrest on June 15.
According to a post by blogger Cyprian Nyakundi on X, President Ruto’s security, an officer from the Presidential Escort Unit (PEU), was among those arrested.
Pres William Ruto and Kapseret MP Hon Oscar Sudi
Also, the third officer is attached to the Milimani Law Courts. Kitengela police boss Patrick Manyasi confirmed the incident, noting that the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) had the suspects on their radar.
The suspects were tracked from Eldoret to Nairobi and eventually to Kitengela, where the arrest took place at a roadblock set up by KWS officers. During the arrest, the suspects reportedly drew their pistols but were subdued by the officers.
According to the reports, the suspects were initially taken to Kitengela Police Station before being transferred to KWS holding in Lang’ata, Nairobi.
Equally, Manyasi (police boss) stated that the suspects will face charges for being in possession of wildlife trophies of endangered species, contrary to Section 92(4) of the Wildlife Conservation Management Act 2013. This seizure suggests that some elephants had been recently killed, likely in nearby parks.h
That notwithstanding, the arrests have reportedly caused shock within the service, raising suspicions that the officers might have been involved in similar crimes previously. The suspects could remain in custody for an extended period due to a go-slow by judicial officers following the shooting of a magistrate at Makadara Law Courts.
