Drama unfolded in Karatina town, central Kenya on Thursday afternoon, after two motorcycle riders accosted a 62-year-old man who had withdrawn Sh0.6 million at a local bank and snatched the cash from him.
The victim, a pensioner and a former Agricultural Extension Officer, walked to the town’s Equity bank minutes past noon, carrying a cinnamon brown briefcase to make a transaction.
He strode into the banking hall leaving no doubt in the minds of the eagle-eyed riders opposite the bank
Once inside, the 62- year-old withdrew Sh600,000, from his account and divided it into two. Three bundles of Sh100,000 each were neatly arranged in his briefcase before he locked it, using a combination of codes. He then stuffed the remaining half into his pockets before walking out of the banking hall.
The senior citizen then walked straight to a roadside shed where he bought a pack containing ten packets of Supermatch brand cigarettes, opened his briefcase and arranged the package neatly beside the wads of notes before locking it, once again.
“Unbeknownst to him, two rides were all eyes behind him waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike,” said DCI.
No sooner had the man taken a step back, than a blow that catapulted him to the ground met his face.
Before he knew what had hit him, the two thugs snatched the briefcase from him and jumped on their motorbike, which immediately sped off.
Luckily, two detectives based at DCI Karatina had just stepped out of a restaurant where they had taken lunch, on time to catch a glimpse of the old man landing on the ground and the thugs making their daring escape.
Determined to stop them, the officers gave chase while shouting at the thugs to stop, in a scene not witnessed in the busy town in recent times.
The thugs hurriedly left the bike on the road and escaped on foot limping, as they hurled the briefcase at the officers who were breathing down their backs.
Detectives collected the briefcase, walked back and handed it over to the old man who had been helped to his feet by well-wishers.
He was escorted to Karatina police station whereupon ascertaining that he did not suffer any injury, he carefully selected the combination to unlock his briefcase and confirmed that his money was intact.
Asked why he had carried such an amount of money in cash, the old man answered that he was on his way to a hardware shop to purchase some construction materials.
He was escorted by detectives to his home a happy man.
Meanwhile, the owner of the motorbike later presented himself at the police station and alleged that he had hired the bike to a rider.
He is currently assisting us with investigations.
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