To most Kenyans, the first thing that comes to mind when the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is mentioned is their fast Subaru cars and long social media narrations of how different suspects were nabbed.
However, the DCI is not just about that, the agency offers more than most Kenyans get to see or hear about. In fact, the DCI has some of the best brains and soldiers in the country.
One of such is Agnes Wangechi Muchiri who is ranked the best female sharpshooter in the country.
Speaking during a recent interview with Citizen Digital, Wangeci revealed that she was born in Hola, Tana River Country. She also got her early education in the same area.
She is a graduate of Kenya Methodist University (KEMU) where she undertook a higher diploma in Psychology.
Wangechi joined the police service in 2008. She currently serves as a Constable of Police and is attached to the DCI forensic lab unit.
Explaining her journey to being the country's best female shooter, Wangechi noted that she developed a passion for shooting while at the police training college in Kiganjo.
File image of Agnes Wangeci, Kenya's best female shooter. [Photo: Courtesy]
According to her, while most ladies shy away from shooting, arguing that it is an activity best suited for their male counterparts, she found it to be fun and fell in love with it.
After exiting Kiganjo, she joined Coast Province Police Shooting Team and a shooting club in Nairobi.
However, things did not pick up for her until 2021 when a shooting trainer named Ibrahim Ndung’u from Bamburi Rifle Shooting Club offered to walk the journey with her after seeing her immense skills.
“He passionately trained me...I did not look back. I continued getting training from Master Ibra – as we used to call him – and I am grateful to God I have never missed the podium. I do not believe in luck anymore because I have known how to work hard and get what I really want," she said during a past interview with Nation.
After months of being trained and mentored by Ndung'u, she got better and started winning awards in local shooting competitions.
Cumulatively, Wangechi says she has won over 30 trophies and 15 medals. Her climax was in June, 2022 when she won a shooting competition hosted in Kenya when she emerged best female shooter in the country.
"I'm currently the top lady shooter in Kenya and I'm proud cause I have worked for it, I'm working to be the best female shooter in Africa. I compete in shooting both handgun and rifle," she told Citizen Digital.
Explaining her secret, Wangechi noted that she has gotten to where she is due to lots of practice, adding that there is no luck in shooting.
She also underscored that support from the DCI has been instrumental in her growth as a professional shooter.
Addressing issues of gun-related violence among uniformed officers, Wangechi noted that discipline and good state of mind are very important for anyone handling a gun.
Wangechi is one of two female shooters set to represent the country in a world shooting competition in Thailand later this year.
