How Kenyan commando thwarted bloody money heist at local bank

Kenya's Department of Criminal Investigations, DCI, have recounted how a lone man who tried staging a heist at a local bank was overpowered by commandos who happen to be at the premises. The October 11, 2022 incident at the Equity Bank in the capital Nairobi, however, led to a number of people sustaining injuries as the assailant threatened to unleash more violence. The 29-year-old was disarmed at a point where he was holding a knife to the neck of a bank official threatening to slit her throat if provoked by officers on duty. "At this point, one of the officers whom this writer learnt has had stints at various specialized commando units in the Administration Police Service and has in the course of his career raided enemy positions in the northern frontier, fired a shot trained at the assailant’s right arm, destabilizing him on the spot. "As the miscreant dropped on the ground writhing in pain, the officers quickly took charge of the situation and restored normalcy," the DCI statement noted. "The victims of the attack whose bodies bore knife injuries were rushed to the Nairobi West hospital, where they were attended to in fair condition. Meanwhile, the suspect was rushed to Mbagathi hospital where he was admitted," the statement concluded. FULL STATEMENT: LONE MAN WHO ATTEMPTED TO STAGE A ‘MONEY HEIST’ AT A LOCAL BANK STOPPED BY A.P COMMANDO Quick action by officers manning a bank in Nairobi West saved the day, after a lone knife wielding assailant attempted to forcefully obtain money from the bank’s operations manager. In the 11am incident that left employees and customers at Nairobi West’s Equity bank branch heavily shaken yesterday, the man identified as Boniface Ouma, 29, stormed the banking hall after stabbing a guard severely on his back. The guard from BM security was on routine duty conducting security checks on unsuspecting customers, when the man descended on his back with the sharp object. The attacker went ahead to stab another man who was waiting to be served by a teller before he charged at the female operations manager like a wounded buffalo, grabbed her and demanded for money while pointing the knife drenched in human blood at her. The shocked manager raised alarm attracting the attention of police officers stationed at the bank, who were at the moment overseeing the delivery of a consignment of cash. The battle-hardened officers based at AP’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit (CIPU) responded with exasperation, ordering the man to drop the knife held precariously close to the manager’s jugular. But the man determined to accomplish his mission did not budge and instead threatened to slit her throat open at the slightest provocation. At this point, one of the officers whom this writer learnt has had stints at various specialized commando units in the Administration Police Service and has in the course of his career raided enemy positions in the northern frontier, fired a shot trained at the assailant’s right arm, destabilizing him on the spot. As the miscreant dropped on the ground writhing in pain, the officers quickly took charge of the situation and restored normalcy. The victims of the attack whose bodies bore knife injuries were rushed to the Nairobi West hospital, where they were attended to in fair condition. Meanwhile, the suspect was rushed to Mbagathi hospital where he was admitted. You can also watch this episode of People & Places on GhanaWeb TV: SARA