Nairobi, Kenya: Drama unfolded along Banda Street, Nairobi Thursday when gunmen splashed money to a mob to allow them escape from an Mpesa shop where they had robbed Sh1.4 million.
A gang of four armed with pistols had raided an Mpesa shop at the ground floor of Gilfilan House and grabbed the cash before storming out on foot.
An attendant at the shop pursued them outside while shouting for help from the members of the public.
Witnesses said on reaching outside Jamia Mosque, one of the gunmen was grabbed by a mob.
To enable him escape, he fetched a bundle of notes from a paper bag and splashed some of it to the blood -baying mob.
The crowd abandoned him and dashed for the notes even as the female attendant screamed for more help.
The woman, Shaheen Afzal, continued to pursue them for another 50 meters away where another suspect splashed more cash near Bazaar Plaza diverting the attention of the group that was pursuing them.
Shaheen said they also dropped her personal bag that they had grabbed from their shop as they mingled with other pedestrians along Moi Avenue and vanished.
Shaheen’s father Mohamed Afzal said the gang went to the shop at about 11 am posing as customers who wanted to transact money.
“One of them came in and sat pretending to be in need before three others joined and started to rough us up. One of them stood at the entrance and violently ushered in unsuspecting customers,” said Afzal.
Afzal said the gang broke drawers and grabbed the cash that he was planning to take to a bank before they rushed out. He sustained a cut on his left ring finger as he struggled with the gang inside his shop.
“They had a lot of confidence and I initially thought they were police officers who were joking but when they started to be rough and flushed out their guns, I realised things were different,” he said.
He said he was puzzled why the gang did not fire a single bullet despite being pursued after the robbery.
Afzal said three people, each with Sh1,000 note returned Sh3,000 to him that they collected from the road, being part of the bundle that was splashed.
Central OCPD Paul Wanjama said they are yet to make an arrest and that a hunt on the attackers was ongoing.
-standardmedia.co.ke
