Emuhaya: Four suspected highway robbers were arrested on Thursday morning in Vihiga’s Emuhaya sub-county after a botched theft attempt on a cement transit truck from Machakos to Busia via the Kisumu-Busia route.

The incident occurred at 6 am in the Asikote section. The 55-year-old driver of the FAW truck, owned by Mombasa Cement Ltd, noticed individuals clinging to the left side door.

The door flung open, and the robbers began throwing out sacks of cement.

Despite the driver’s repeated honking to scare them off, the thugs continued their illegal offloading and dragged the cement bags into nearby thickets, forcing the driver to stop.

Embali Police Station officers, on patrol nearby, responded to the distress signals, arriving just in time to rescue the driver.

The robbers fled into the thickets, but Bernard Ochoyi Omari, 33, was apprehended carrying one of the stolen 50kg cement bags.

Further searches led to the recovery of nine stolen cement bags. One bag was found at the home of a suspect, Boaz Amunabi Joshua, alias Spear.

During the search, police also recovered a blood-stained machete, 21 mosquito nets, a sack of wheat, and other suspected stolen items.

Additional suspects arrested included Francis Khulali, 70, Anthony Etale, 22, and Winnie Odongo Ombati, 28. All suspects are in custody, awaiting arraignment on Friday, November 1.