Here are the identities of the three thugs gunned down after a 5-hour gunfight in Kenol.

Heavily armed police take cover as they engaged in a five-hour battle with hardcore criminals at Kenol trading centre in Murang'a County.

Business in the busy Kenol trading centre, Murang’a County was brought to a halt as three gangsters involved in the murder of two police officers in Kayole on Saturday night were shot dead in a rental apartment after a five-hour shootout.

The officers recovered two firearms belonging to the Kenya Police Service – a Ceska pistol and an AK-47 rifle – and seven rounds of ammunition.

The pistol is believed to have been one of two that were stolen from two police officers who were shot dead in Nairobi’s Kayole estate after identification documents from one of the slain officers were found with the suspects.

Also found in their possession was a letter of appointment of one of the slain officers. The AK-47 is believed to have been used in a shooting in Kibichoi, Kiambu County on August 18 where two police officers were killed.

Heavy gunfire could be heard metres away from the building in which the suspected criminals were holed up.

According to the Kenya Realtime Alerts, Officers trailed the gang to the rental building on Saturday morning after a robbery in the capital Nairobi. When the gang realised the officers had entered the building at around 9am, they opened fire.

Some of the tenants scampered for safety as police evacuated others as they prepared to take on the shooters.

Some of the documents and ammunition found in possession of the slain gangsters. 

Some of the tenants scampered for safety as police evacuated others as they prepared to take on the shooters.

As the shootout ensued for hours, the officers requested for reinforcement and by midday, the Flying Squad based in Murang’a were deployed to the area but could also not access the building as the criminals held a family hostage in one of the rooms.

It was not until five hours later that officers from the highly trained General Service Unit’s Recce Squad from Ruaraka in Nairobi were dispatched to end the siege that had proved difficult for more than 70 officers who had surrounded the building.

“It took us a very long time since they had held a young family of a father, mother and their young child hostage and were using it as a human shield, making it difficult for us to shoot them dead,” said Murang’a County Commander Naomi Ichami.

Barely 30 minutes after the Recce Squad officers arrived, the siege came to a halt with the three men being shot dead.

The shaken family, a man his wife and a toddler, who had been held hostage, were rescued from the robbers.

The County Commander said the family would be taken through counselling as they might have suffered shock from the incident.

“The family is safe but they will be taken through counselling. They are quite shaken,” she said.

Initial findings suggested that the gang had been using the building as its hideout and armoury, taking advantage of the elevated floor to spot any officers approaching.

Police are pursuing other suspects linked to the three. The suspects, aged between 18 and 25 years, are also linked to a series of armed robberies in Kiambu County.

Two police officers were on Saturday morning found dead in Kayole having been shot dead by unknown people. The two who were attached to Kayole Police Station were found by their colleagues lying in a pool of blood by the roadside at 4am within Matopeni area near Kayole North Primary School.

The dead were identified as Police Constables Linus Inima and James Gitahi.

Eleven spent 7.62mm cartridges were found at the scene, suggesting the killers used a rifle, possibly an AK-47 rifle.

The attackers, while riding on motorcycle, are said to have ambushed the officers who were patrolling on foot.

Following the incident, ‘Hessy Wa Dandora’, who are believed to be a group of underground crime busters, shared gruesome images of the dead bodies on the Kayole Crime Free Facebook page for all to see.

A photo file of two of the gangsters who were gunned down in Kenol trading centre on Saturday.

“Hayawi hayawi huwa, mali ya serikali huezi enda nayo far. Cheki sasa #Kimondo,#Kinyanjui aka Kush and your new recruit Rot in Hell!!! #Teddy mahali uko ona sasa mbogi yako. Frm kayole(matopeni) to #kenol #CrimeDoesNotPay!” read the caption.

“Until today morning Kimondo, Kinyanjui and Teddy were breathing, but Hessy wa Kayole never took chances after it was rumoured the three criminals were on rampage. Over 100 bullets were enough to take them to hell…they have now met Judas and the serpent in hell.” ended the quote.