Controversial Lamu Senator Anwar Loitiptip surrendered to police on Sunday afternoon following a shooting incident involving him that left a woman with gunshot injuries.
Police spokesperson Bruno Shioso confirmed Loitiptip’s surrender and subsequent arrest.
“Lamu senator surrendered to Nanyuki police following an earlier incident where his lady friend was shot and injured and is currently assisting police with investigations,” Shioso said.
Loitiptip spent the night in police custody at a Nanyuki police station as he waited to be arraigned in court on Monday.
The senator’s weapon was confiscated when he surrendered and handed over to the Kenya Police Lab for analysis as part of the investigation.
Read More
He is likely to face charges including but not limited to misuse of his weapon and causing bodily harm to the 32-year-old woman identified as Joy Makena.
According to Loitiptip’s statement, he was accosted at a joint forcing him to shoot, injuring Makena on the right foot just above her ankle on Saturday night at around 2 am before he disappeared.
Makena was rushed to the hospital where she was treated and is currently is in a stable condition.
However, her statement painted a different picture from what the senator told the police. Makana said she was involved in a heated argument with the senator before he discharged his weapon and fired at her at close proximity.
The senator is reported to have fled the scene, leaving his security detail to tend to the injured lady. He reportedly called a senior police officer at around 6 am and requested for the contacts of the head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for Laikipia.
Police later traced his bodyguard and confiscated his weapon. They also recovered two spent cartridges from the scene and both the gun and the cartridges were sent to the lab for ballistic analysis.
The detectives also visited Makena in the hospital to gather more information about the incident.
Detectives are yet to establish the motive for the shooting, but they still intend to gather more information from witness statements.