Mystery has surrounded the death of a leader of a notorious criminal gang, linked to a series of armed robberies and killings in Mombasa after police claimed to have killed him twice.
Police have claimed to have killed Simon Kinyua in two separate incidents the latest being yesterday in Mikindani area, Changamwe.
On April 21, police in Rabai, Kilifi county claimed also to have shot Kinyua and two of his accomplices dead.
During the incident, Rabai sub-county police commander David Maina said police recovered two AK-47 rifles and 59 rounds of ammunition the suspects were using to rob two businessmen at Rabai and Mazeras area.
Mombasa County Police Commander Johnstone Ipara said yesterday that Kinyua was among two people killed inside a matatu at Kijiweni area in Mikindani as he was travelling towards Changamwe.
“Identification documents recovered from his pockets show he is the Simon Kinyua we have been tracking down. We are sure he is the one. I do not know of the same Kinyua being killed in Rabai,” said Ipara.
Mr Ipara says police had been trailing the suspects for a while before pouncing on them as they were heading to Mombasa town.
Mr Ipara says the suspected criminals were on Tuesday morning smoked out of a Mombasa CBD-bound matatu and killed. The two had allegedly boarded the matatu at Kijiweni area in Mkindani so as to evade police roadblock.
Mr Ipara says the two were found in possession of a Ceska pistol and six rounds of ammunition. The Mombasa police chief says the pair allegedly waylaid a Dreamline bus operator at Changamwe roundabout at 11 pm Monday and shot him dead.
The latest claim by police comes just some 10 days after a similar claim by police in Rabai. Police have described Kinyua as a trigger-happy criminal.
Kinyua, who has been nicknamed by M-Pesa dealers as “happy killer”, was feared in Mombasa and its environs. Reports say he has forced several mobile money transfer dealers in Changamwe and Jomvu constituencies to abandon the business for fear of being killed.