This archive report was first published on 11 October 2019.
On Thursday night, a shootout in a residential estate in Nyeri Town brought an end to a one-year manhunt for Elias Kiriithi, a suspect in the death of local chief Peter Kimiti.
Police had been searching for Kiriithi since last year in connection with the shooting of Kimiti, who was killed on a farm near his home.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i had visited the area after Kimiti's death, ordering a crackdown on rising crime.
After a year of investigations and a police reshuffle in the subcounty, Nyeri Subcounty Police Commander Paul Kuria said officers who had been tracking Kiriithi were involved in the shootout that led to his death.
"The suspect was armed with a Ceska pistol and an extra magazine. He opened fire on our officers, who retaliated," Kuria said.
Police stated that Kiriithi was accompanied by another suspect who escaped on a boda boda.
"We warn those criminals to surrender themselves to the police, as we will not give up until we apprehend those involved," the police boss added.
Kiriithi, 34, had several aliases, including Tony, Sniper, Munene, Tony, Baby Simo, Anthony, or Mzai.
He was believed to have been on the run since last year and had been hiding in Kiambu, but was forced to return to Nyeri Town following a security operation in Gatundu.
