Police operations in Trans Nzoia and Makueni counties yielded major breakthroughs after detectives tracked down and arrested key suspects linked to two separate, high-profile criminal cases involving a horrific murder and a botched highway heist.

In Kiminini, Trans Nzoia County, detectives arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with the brutal assault and subsequent death of an elderly woman.

The victim, 84-year-old Florence Khosa, was rushed to Cheranganyi Nursing Home after sustaining severe injuries in the attack.

Despite the medical team’s efforts to save her life, she succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment.

Following the incident, police launched a manhunt for the primary suspect, identified as Ezekiel Nyongesa Barasa, who had gone into hiding.

Relentless police tracking eventually paid off when detectives located and apprehended him.

Barasa was subsequently placed in an identification parade, where witnesses positively identified him as the assailant.

Preliminary investigations further reveal that the victim may have been sexually assaulted before her death.

As detectives continue to dig deeper, fresh leads have also linked Barasa to another alleged killing involving an 86-year-old woman in Tongaren, Bungoma County.

Kilometers away in Mtito Andei, detectives dismantled a gang responsible for a daring highway robbery attempt along the Mombasa–Nairobi highway.

The incident occurred on May 6, 2026, near the Mutomo area, when a gang riding a motorcycle staged a fake roadside emergency to lure a transit driver transporting a Subaru Impreza into stopping.

Once the driver pulled over, the gang attempted to hijack the vehicle at gunpoint.

However, the robbery went disastrously wrong when the driver fought back.

During the fierce physical struggle, the gang’s own firearm discharged, fatally shooting one of the attackers, identified as Gift Musau.

His accomplices abandoned his body at the scene and fled into the shadows on their motorcycle.

Despite the passage of time, investigators kept the trail warm. Following sustained intelligence-led operations, a team of detectives tracked the fleeing suspects to a hideout in Kinyambu on Friday, August 21, 2026.

Police arrested Alex Mueti Kasina and Stephen Kalungo Joel, alongside a third accomplice, bringing all surviving members of the gang into custody as processing for court begins.