A senior Directorate of Criminal Investigations officer has been arrested for shooting and injuring a boda boda rider in a road rage incident in Imenti South Sub-county.

Chief Inspector David Kipkoech Somme, the Imenti South Sub-county DCI boss, had on Wednesday last week shot and seriously injured Festus Mutegi Kirimi, 25, on the right side of the abdomen following a confrontation.

Investigations were launched, and the officer was found to have followed the victim from the Kionyo stage to where he was dropping a passenger and shot him.

“Please be informed that Chief Inspector David Kipkoech Somme, the SCCIO Imenti South Sub-County, has been arrested in connection with the shooting incident that occurred on April 2, 2025, within Nkubu township,” a brief to police headquarters read. Kirimi reported that while at the Kionyo stage with his motorcycle, he encountered a G-Touring car with two occupants, a male and a female.

Blocked road A confrontation broke out prompting the rider to speed of to Kiigine market where he was dropping a passenger.

He said upon reaching at the gate of Winners Academy, the male occupant of the car who was trailing him drew a pistol and shot him on the right side abdomen. The gunman drove of toward Nkubu township. Police officers from Nkubu Police Station visited the scene after a mob blocked the road. They managed the mob and took the injured man to the hospital before prompting an investigation.

“No spent cartridges were recovered at the scene while only fresh blood stains were seen on the ground. The victim was immediately rushed to Consolata Mission Hospital in stable condition where he is undergoing treatment,” a police citation reads.

The cause was not immediately established but it was linked to the earlier road rage. The National Police Service headquarters has warned officers not to overstep the bounds of necessity and assured that only officers who use their weapons lawfully and in justifiable circumstances will be protected. In a related incident on March 27, another officer attached to DCI Molo, Nakuru county, was arrested and disarmed after he was allegedly involved in a shooting incident involving a boda boda rider. Edwin Keitany was shot and injured and had to undergo brain surgery to remove the bullet fragments.

Keitany was shot and seriously injured by the officer following an altercation between the DCI officer and a pillion passenger. Sergeant James Kenei was later arrested and his pistol, loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition confiscated. The victim later recorded a statement with the Independent Policing and Oversight Authority (Ipoa) from his hospital bed.

The victim said he was shot and injured by a police officer following an altercation between the DCI officer and a female passenger, who was the officer’s wife.

“When we reached I found a man waiting and he asked me where I was coming with his wife. A confrontation broke out and I felt a pain and bleeding,” he added. Several police officers have been arrested in the last few months for misusing their firearms.

On March 23, a police officer attached to the State House Spokesman Hussein Mohamed, shot and killed a man in a confrontation over a pool game in Kawangware, Nairobi. A police officer attached to Parliament had earlier in the month shot and killed a colleague in an argument over their ranks. He also injured a second officer at the Gigiri police canteen.