BY MANUEL ODENY

Police have launched a manhunt for an aide to Siaya governor James Orengo who escaped a dragnet that captured 15 goons ahead of Linda Mwananchi rally in Homa Bay.

In a post on Facebook, the Directorate of Criminal Investigation said the goons are members of a criminal gang and the swoop also sawa a cache of crude weapons recovered in an operation in Kisumu County.

“As the operation unfolded, one suspect, identified as Oliver Jaoko a.k.a. Oliveti and believed to have been leading the group, made a daring escape by jumping through a vehicle window,” police said.

Oliveti is tied to Orengo and is known to be among his security aides.

Police intelligence pointed that a group of persons suspected to be armed with crude weapons was travelling in three vehicles along the Kisumu–Kericho highway.

The three vehicles intercepted were a grey Toyota Noah, registration number KCR 790A, and two white Toyota Hiace vans, KDM 377M and KDE 819U, both operating under the Nyakija Classic Shuttle along the Kisumu–Migori route.

A search of the vehicles and the suspects yielded several mobile phones, assorted machetes and pangas, knives, ropes, a metal rod/club and other items suspected to have been intended for criminal activities.

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The 15 suspects, together with the recovered exhibits, were taken into custody, where they are undergoing processing pending arraignment as detectives pursue the case.