The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has published CCTV footage that purports to show a middle-aged guy being handed a bottle of water before extending his hand to seize a phone that was lying on the counter and fleeing the scene after being approached by two women inside the shop.
The agency has appealed to the public for any information that could assist in locating and apprehending the offender.
“Do you know this, Ninja? He is one of the thugs targeting Mpesa shops in Nairobi and its environs. The thug is part of a wider armed and dangerous gang that staged an attack at Mpesa shops located at Adams market. Two agents a man and a woman were shot dead in the Saturday incident,” the agency asked in a plea posted on their official Twitter account.
The DCI stated that the arrest of the suspects will help deliver justice to the victims and their families.
“Kindly assist us in finding him and deliver justice to the families of the victims and many other Mpesa agents who continue to suffer in their hands,” said the DCI.
Mpesa outlets across the country have become a soft target for gangs because of lack of proper security measures in place despite dealing in financial transactions.
Just a month ago on May 6, armed robbers staged attacks in four M-Pesa shops in Nairobi’s Kamukunji area making away with Sh 1.3 million.
Police said all the targeted M-Pesa shops were adjacent to each other less than 2 kilometers from Shauri Moyo Police Station.
They happened at 5:30 a.m. Due to anticipated transactions by second-hand clothing and shoe vendors, MPESA agents in this area open early.
According to authorities, the first shop was robbed for Sh 240, 000, the second for Sh 300,000, and the third was robbed for Sh 800,000 by the criminals.
According to police, the suspects brandished pistols at the victims before demanding them to relinquish all of their belongings and fleeing to the Majengo slum.
The incident occurred at a time when the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics recorded a spike in crime in sections of Nairobi, with 6, 686 offenses registered to police in Nairobi alone in 2021, according to the study.