An undercover police officer was shot dead by a bodaboda rider in Thika following a brief confrontation between the undercover police officer and the rider.
According to a police incident report, Police Constable Bernard Koome was shot in the neck after he intercepted a motorcycle rider near the Cravers area in Thika on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
The report indicates that the rider abandoned a black motorcycle after the undercover police officer intercepted it and began to flee.
“In the process, he shot PC Bernard Koome in the neck. Officers pursued the criminal, who continued firing in the air as he was escaping,” the report reads.
Fired multiple shots
The bodaboda rider is said to have shot in the direction of the police officer as he escaped an imminent arrest. Police recovered spent cartridges in the area after rushing the officer to the Thika Nursing Home.
“I was hijacked by a person wielding a gun when I was ferrying a customer to her destination. He commanded us to alight from the motorcycle, and when we had done so, he disappeared with the bike,” the motorcycle rider told a local TV station.
He equally revealed that he recovered his motorcycle, abandoned in Thika by the man, who had left it on the side of the road.
The police officer was pronounced dead while at a medical facility after sustaining life-threatening injuries from the shootout.
Firearm and ammunition recovered
“A search was conducted where two spent cartridges of 9mm calibre were found at the scene and a Cesca pistol magazine was recovered loaded with rounds of 9mm ammunition. The officer who was rushed to the hospital succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment.”
In his escape, the rider is reported to have commandeered another bodaboda rider and made his escape with the bike before further disappearing to evade police officers, who were hot on his trail.
The man, who is now on the run, is said to have drawn suspicion from undercover cops after they noticed his motorbike lacked a unique code necessary for joining bodaboda stages in Thika.
Upon confrontation, the exchanges became violent as he overpowered the police officer and snatched his pistol before shooting him in the neck.
Residents of the area took cover as the rider fired shots to distract other undercover police officers who were responding to the distress call from their colleague.
