Detectives are investigating whether a criminal gang received advance information about a customer’s cash withdrawal after an accountant was allegedly abducted and robbed of KSh600,000 just minutes after leaving a KCB Bank branch in Bungoma.
The brazen daylight attack, which unfolded on Thursday afternoon, has shifted investigators’ attention to the possibility that the suspects may have had prior knowledge of the transaction, prompting police to review CCTV footage from the bank and examine whether the victim was being monitored before leaving the banking hall.
Authorities have not accused KCB or any of its employees of wrongdoing, and say all possible leads are being investigated.
Followed from KCB Bank
According to police, the victim, a district accountant based in Sirisia, had withdrawn KSh600,000 from a KCB branch in Bungoma Town at around 12:30 p.m.
He then boarded a motorcycle and began travelling along the BungomaβChwele Road.
During the journey, both the accountant and the boda boda rider reportedly noticed a vehicle trailing them shortly after they left the bank.
Their suspicions were confirmed moments later when the vehicle overtook and blocked the motorcycle near Sikusi.
Five men emerged from the vehicle, one reportedly armed with a pistol, before forcing both the accountant and the rider into the waiting car.
The gang then drove them along a remote murram road.
Robbed and abandoned
Police said the attackers stole KSh600,000 in cash, the accountant’s national identity card, bank withdrawal slip and a Tecno Spark 8 mobile phone.
The motorcycle rider was also robbed of KSh390 and an M10 mobile phone.
The suspects later dumped the two victims in a maize plantation in Kimilili before fleeing.
The robbers abandoned the rider’s TVS Star motorcycle at the scene.
The victims managed to free themselves and reported the incident at Kimilili Police Station, prompting detectives to launch investigations.
Detectives probe possible information leak
Investigators are now focusing on how the gang appeared to know the victim had withdrawn a substantial amount of cash.
As part of the probe, officers visited the KCB branch where the withdrawal was made and requested access to CCTV footage.
The footage is expected to help establish whether the suspects were conducting surveillance inside or outside the banking hall before following the victim.
Detectives are also seeking to determine whether information about the transaction may have reached the robbers before the accountant exited the bank.
Police stressed that they have not established any wrongdoing by KCB or its staff, saying investigators are examining every possible lead before concluding.
According to security experts, such gangs often station members inside or near banking halls to identify customers withdrawing large sums of cash.
In some incidents, bank employees notify gangs immediately after serving customers, and inform them about the exact amount of money withdrawn.
The information is then allegedly relayed to accomplices waiting outside, who discreetly follow victims before striking at isolated locations.
Over the years, similar robberies have been reported in Nairobi, Machakos, Kisumu and other towns, with some investigations leading to the arrest of organised gangs accused of targeting bank customers immediately after cash withdrawals.
Forensic investigations underway
Police have expanded the investigation beyond the crime scene.
Detectives are reviewing CCTV footage from the bank and businesses located along the victims’ route, analysing mobile phone data and pursuing forensic evidence that could identify the attackers and reconstruct their movements before and after the robbery.
The recovered motorcycle is also expected to undergo forensic examination.
No arrests had been made by Friday as investigations continued.
Fresh warning to bank customers
The latest incident has renewed concerns over the safety of customers carrying large amounts of cash after leaving financial institutions.
Security experts have advised customers making substantial withdrawals to remain alert for suspicious vehicles or individuals, avoid predictable travel routes where possible, and consider requesting security escorts when transporting significant sums of money.
Police have urged anyone with information that could assist the investigation to report it to the nearest police station as efforts continue to trace the gang behind the abduction and robbery.
