New Danish ambassador carjacked in Nairobi

 


Story by PATRICK MAYOYO and PATRICK NZIOKA
Publication Date: 09/10/2005

A detective dusts a Danish embassy vehicle for finger prints after it was recovered by police from carjackers in Nairobi yesterday. The ambassador, Mr Bo Jessen, who was being driven in another car, was robbed of his mobile phone and Sh5,000, but he was not hurt. Photo by Paul Waweru The new Danish ambassador was yesterday robbed of his mobile phone and Sh5,000 after being caught up in a carjacking incident on Nairobi's Waiyaki Way. Mr Bo Jessen, who presented his credentials to President Kibaki on Thursday, was robbed a few metres from his offices by a five-man gang. Gigiri police boss Patrick Lumumba said the robbers confronted Mr Jessen as he was being driven to the embassy offices on Waiyaki Way. A gang member and an embassy driver were injured when APs at a nearby DO's office engaged the gunmen in a shoot-out. The driver was taken to Nairobi Hospital. "Apart from losing his phone and wallet containing the money, the ambassador was not harmed," the police boss said. When Mr Jessen presented his credentials to President Kibaki together with Slovak ambassador Igor Liska and European Union's Eric Jacob Van Der Linden, the President called on ambassadors and high commissioners in Kenya to tour the country and interact with citizens. Mr Lumumba said the ambassador's car, which was being escorted by another vehicle, was blocked by a white saloon car as it slowed down to turn towards the embassy at the gate of Aga Khan High School. The robbers commandeered one of the vehicles when they were challenged by two Administration Police officers on patrol who had witnessed the robbery. A shoot-out ensued and the gang who had by now taken control of one of the vehicles drove off with the APs in pursuit. But the APs shot and deflated the rear and front tyres of the embassy car on Rhapta Road next to the Pakistani embassy. The gangsters then commandeered another vehicle, dragged their injured colleague into it and sped off towards town. The vehicle was later found abandoned in Mowlem area in Dandora. The Danish embassy vehicle abandoned by the gangsters had 24 bullet holes. The window on the driver's side was shattered. Chief inspector Martin Waititu of Westlands DO's office said Administration Police on patrol spotted the gangsters and fired in the air to scare them before they returned fire and started escaping. "It was after they discovered that our officers were in the vicinity that they panicked and started making frantic efforts to escape," he said. Mr Wellington Muya who was among motorists robbed said the gangsters confronted him at gunpoint and demanded his car keys. "I gave them the car keys... they then took my briefcase and mobile phone before going to the car behind me with diplomatic numbers," he said. Mr Muya, however, said he was lucky because he managed to get his briefcase back after the gangsters threw it away while escaping from APs.  Mr Lumumba said police recovered a Russian made sub-machine gun from the car abandoned by the robbers, a police pocket radio, a bullet-proof vest, a neon sign like those used by police at road blocks, a police beret, 31 rounds of ammunition for the machine gun and four rounds of ammunition for an AK-47 rifle.