Mombasa County Commissioner Evans Achoki at a past media briefing. [Photo/ the-star.co.ke]
A man said to be in the list of the most wanted criminals in Mombasa has been killed.
Mohamed Bocha was neutralized by members of the public who stoned him to death on Sunday.Mombasa County Commissioner Evans Achoki said the slain suspected criminal had dogged police’s traps for a long time. Early in the year, Achoki said, Bocha escaped narrowly when police raided his rum-shackled home in Old Town.He said the suspect vanished and police investigations showed he ran to Lamu before the officers were tipped of his return to Mombasa prompting police to launch pursuit for him.Bocha is said to have been at the centre of burglaries targeting high end businesses in Mombasa town.His killing comes less than a month after the killing of another suspect said to be in the list of Mombasa’s most wanted criminals.Jamal Juma, 30, was shot dead by police officers who raided his home at Soyosoyo, Timboni in Watamu. At the time of his killing, it is said, he was planning to raid a local police station.Police said Jamal was a ring leader of several criminal gangs operating in Watamu, Mombasa.Achoki said most criminals operating in Mombasa have support bases in neighbouring counties.During Jamal’s killing Timboni Chief Benson Kazungu said Jamal was a known burglar in the area. He had been arrested severally in connection with house break-ins in Watamu.He said police who conducted the raid did not encounter resistance from the deceased despite reports he owned an AK 47 rifle and a G3 gun. No weapon was recovered during the raid.Police suspect he had accomplices in the area where he hid the guns used for terrorising residents and business owners. Kazungu linked M-PESA shop raids in the area to the slain man.“There was no peace here because they (illegal gangs) would strike at any time,” he said.