A Nakuru man shared his terrifying ordeal of how armed men, claiming to be police, broke into his home looking for cartoonist Gideon Kibet, alias Kibet Bull, but got the wrong house.
The man recounted how the incident began in the early hours of the morning.
“I came home, had supper with my family, and we went to sleep. At around 3:30 am, I was woken up by a loud bang at the door, a big bang! The house shook. I wondered who had the guts to hit the house like that, especially since we have security in this estate,” he told NTV Kenya.
Though the scared and alarmed man called the estate security team, his neighbors chose to stay inside, and watch from their windows.
Moments later, about seven armed men stormed into his bedroom.
The aggressive intruders were brandishing modern automatic weapons.
And for the first time in his life, he found himself staring directly at guns pointed directly at him.
But the intruders realized they had the wrong house
“When they realized it was not the right place. I noticed they relaxed their weapons,” he says.
Despite the change in tone, the armed men continued to search the house and question him.
They also inspected his wife and children, leaving the family terrified.
His wife, overcome with shock, struggled to breathe and had to be seated until she calmed down.
“We Are Police Officers”
Before leaving, the intruders identified themselves as police officers. They accused the man of not opening the door when they allegedly called out.
“They told me, ‘We are police officers. Why didn’t you open the door when we called?’ I told them I didn’t hear them calling,” he explained.
The attackers then left, blaming the man for the confusion.
Reporting the Incident
The man reported the break-in to Njoro Police Station and later visited the DCI.
However, the DCI denied any knowledge of the operation.
“They said if it was a DCI operation, the team should have reported to them and informed them before carrying out any operations in our area,” he said.
The intruders are believed to have been looking for Kibet Bull, who was abducted shortly after leaving Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah’s office.
The Nakuru man’s resemblance to Kibet is thought to have led to the confusion.
By Vivian K.