Cornered by bike robbers, family recounts terrifying ordeal

Detectives in Gigiri have launched a manhunt after a family was targeted and robbed at gunpoint by a gang of motorcycle riders outside a well-known car bazaar, within Runda in Nairobi

According to a police report filed at Runda police station, the incident happened on Sunday in the afternoon hours outside along Kiambu road.

As the family stood near the main gate by the roadside displays, they were suddenly cornered by the gang.

According to the police, Ajmera Manishkumar, an Indian national, who was at the bazaar window-shopping for vehicles alongside his wife and daughter, became an easy target for the armed robbers.

Investigators say that three motorcycles- each carrying a rider and a passenger, detached themselves from a larger convoy of motorcycles heading towards Kiambu.

In a span of just seconds,  witnesses say that one of the riders pulled out what they described as a pistol, pointing it directly at the already terrified family.

The remaining two suspects proceeded to rob the victims of two mobile phones, alongside valuable jewellery, including a gold necklace, a silver necklace and two gold rings.

After conducting the assault, the six assailants fled at high speed and blended back into the traffic towards the direction heading to Kiambu.

Police officers from the Runda command centre rushed to the scene after receiving an alert of what happened from a witness.

Despite the alarm, the robbers were nowhere to be found.Luckily no one was physically  injured during this terrifying incident. 

In a span of 48 hours, three robbers have rocked the westlands and Gigiri sub-counties, raising an alarm on the pattern of operation being applied by the gang.

The pattern being very clear, the attackers operated in pairs on multiple motorcycles where they ambushed victims in broad daylight or in the early evening hours.

The gang then elopes the scene at high speed using motorcycles before police arrive at the crime scene.

This gang includes five masked men  at a restaurant in Parklands, four young riders targeting a German media  executive in spring valley and the six on Kiambu road.

Amid rising concerns of insecurity in the city, the systemic armed robberies point to a worrying trend where an armed syndicate could be targeting Nairobians.