Investigations Launched After Firearms and Ammunition Vanish from Thika Police Post
The theft has brought to the fore security lapses in police stations, and the authorities are under pressure to recover the stolen weapons at an early date.
Officers from Thika West, forensic experts, and Crime Scene Investigators then documented the scene and collected evidence to aid the investigation. Photo/courtesy
By Ruth Sang
Authorities have launched investigations into the mysterious theft of guns and ammunition from the Maguguni Patrol Base in Thika, discovered in the early hours of Tuesday, October 29, 2025. The disappearance of the weapons has raised serious security concerns and prompted an internal probe within the police service.
According to an official police report, the incident came to light when Corporal Simon Cheboi, who was on night duty at the report office, observed unusual activity around 4:00 a.m. The officer reportedly heard dogs barking near the station and the adjacent A.I.P.C.A. Church, prompting him to step outside for a quick patrol around the compound.
When he went back to the report office, Corporal Cheboi was shocked to see that one of the iron sheets covering the armoury had been tampered with. On closer inspection, he realized that the padlock to the armoury door had been broken and the steel box used to store firearms was open. A number of weapons and several rounds of ammunition were missing.
An inventory showed that the missing firearms consisted of one AK-47 rifle with two fully loaded magazines containing 60 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one G3 rifle with a loaded magazine containing 20 rounds; further, two empty magazines and another 96 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition were also missing.
The scene was visited by senior officers led by the Thika East Sub-County Police Commander and the Sub-County Criminal Investigations Officer, who assessed the situation. Officers from Thika West, forensic experts, and Crime Scene Investigators then documented the scene and collected evidence to aid the investigation.
What has puzzled investigators is that preliminary findings indicate there were no clear signs of forced entry into the armoury, with both padlocks reportedly intact, hence pointing to the possibility of either an inside job or a case of negligence. “Initial investigations revealed there was no breaking and the armoury padlocks appeared unbroken,” part of the police report read.
A search operation has since been mounted to recover the missing rifles and ammunition. Meanwhile, Corporal Cheboi, who reported the incident first, has been held in custody to facilitate further investigation by detectives into how access was gained to the firearms and how they were removed without any visible damage to the armoury’s security features. The theft has brought to the fore security lapses in police stations, and the authorities are under pressure to recover the stolen weapons at an early date to prevent their use in criminal activity.
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