Abdihakim Maslah, the police officer who killed seven officers on Wednesday at the Kapenguria Police station before he was gunned down has been described as a reserved person who kept to himself.
Thursady morning, West Pokot county commandant Mathews Kuto said the officer PC Abdihakim Maslah was a person who never interacted with his colleagues.
“The officer never interacted with other officers. He kept to himself. He never talked freely with other officers,” he said.
Kuto said the officer committed the offence when on duty and he was armed with a government fire arm.
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He said the deceased officer also tried burning a fleet of police vehicles that were at the station’s parking lot.
“The officer wanted to cause massive destruction at the police station, given that he tried shooting the vehicles’ petrol tanks,” he said.
The police commandant said that the slain police officer took control of the reporting desk area which is the main entrance to the station.
“Some of the police officers who tried to approach him at the report desk were shot. His aim was to kill everybody who came close to him,” said Kuto.
Kuto said they were unable to access the offices since the station has only one entrance.
He said the incident began at 5.30 am when the officer shot one of his colleagues at the report desk.
“I heard a gunshot at 5.30 am when I was still in my house just a few meters from the station. Then I immediately called the area OCS to ascertain what was happening, who then rushed to the report desk to see what was going on. The gun shots could still be heard and when I tried calling the OCS, his phone went unanswered,” he said.
“I rushed to the scene but I never accessed the report office since the shots were still being heard. I subsequently called the AP commandant to rescue us since we were unable to access our armory.” He added.
Kuito said the AP commandant responded immediately and he mobilized the AP officers who came over to help.
He said all suspects that were in police cells were safe and no one was injured in the incident.
“One police officer who was at report desk managed to hide under the report desk table and by the time he was rescued at 3.00 pm he was traumatized. He was rushed to hospital and he is now stable,” said Kuto.
The County leadership led by Governor Simon Kachapin and County Commissioner Wilson Wanyanga Thursday morning visited the police station and consoled the affected families.
Governor Simon Kachapin called on area residents to remain vigilant and implement the Nyumba Kumi policy to in order boost security.
