Nakuru police arrest five over attack on South Sudan nationals

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Five people have been arrested in connection to the recent arson attack on South Sudanese nationals in Nakuru which left one dead and four others nursing serious burn injuries.

According to the Nakuru County Criminal Investigations boss Anthony Sunguti, the five were arrested after a review of CCTV camera footage at the scene of the crime in Mawanga Estate within Nakuru City.

"We are holding the five people in connection with the arson attack. They were flushed out of their hideouts and arrested over the weekend after they were captured on CCTV footage committing the crime. The five will be arraigned later today (Monday),” revealed Mr Sunguti.

Mr Sunguti further told the Nation that the prime suspect sustained burn injuries on his hands and was admitted to a local hospital.

"He could not explain how he got burnt and what he was doing at the scene of crime. He is suspected to have been the ring leader of the mob that attacked the Sudanese nationals using petrol. He has actually been mentioned as the one who set ablaze the residence of the victims,” added the DCI boss.

Mr Sunguti noted that some of the other suspects with burn injuries on their hands have not yet offered statements to collaborate with their findings of the CCTV footage obtained from the scene of crime.

“None has explained how they got the burn wounds. They have not told us if they were burnt while rescuing the South Sudanese nationals, but our preliminary investigations have placed them at the scene of crime. We want to know exactly what happened,” said Mr Sunguti.

He said police will seek more days to complete investigations and forward the file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

The five South Sudanese nationals were attacked by a mob inside their house in Mawanga estate, Nakuru City, doused in petrol and set on fire.

They were accused of attempting to sexually assault a neighbour.

Mr Bol Ajak Atem, the chairperson of the Nakuru South Sudanese community, on Monday said three of the victims are still recuperating at the Nakuru Nursing Home.

He revealed that one of the attack victims, Akuen Chol Ajang, was discharged from the hospital last week.

One of the victims, Garang Chol Ajang, died while receiving treatment at the Nakuru Specialist Hospital and was laid to rest at the Nakuru South Cemetery early this month.

A post-mortem revealed that he succumbed to smoke inhalation.

Mr Kuol Agok, the head of mission at the South Sudanese Embassy in Nairobi, early this month visited the scene of the incident to assess the situation and asked the police to expedite investigations into the attack.

Mr Agok condemned the incident and asked the Kenyan government to move swiftly and investigate the matter to ensure the victims get justice.