Police officers suspected of being involved in kidnapping a foreign national in Mlolongo, Machakos County on January 8, 2024, have been arraigned.
The three officers, Fredrick Mwongela Mwololo, Samuel Mwiti and Kimwele Musyoki, were arraigned at the Mavoko Law Courts on Wednesday, January 17, 2024.
The trio, attached to the General Service Unit were arrested in Nairobi a week after the incident, before their arraignment on Wednesday in Machakos where detectives sought custodial orders to finalize investigations as the manhunt for the kidnapping mastermind follows.
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The victim, a Chinese national, was waylaid on his way to work, where two cars blocked his vehicle before the suspects cuffed him and sped off towards Machakos.
"In the incident that has unearthed an international criminal ring whose targets are well-picked after a background check on their financial muscles, the victim (a Chinese national) was waylaid on his way to work, where two cars blocked his vehicle before the suspects cuffed him and sped off towards Machakos direction," the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) stated.
"After hours of disappearance, concerned friends reported to the DCI of the businessman who never arrived at his workplace as expected, where detectives forensically traced him to Mua Hills in Machakos. But even as a team was being deployed to the area in search for him, the panic-stricken victim resurfaced at Athi River and narrated his ordeal in the hands of the kidnappers who also robbed him violently."
Officers involved in the saga
According to the DCI, five men including a Chinese national (the mastermind), a taxi driver and three police officers had executed the kidnapping, and upon arriving at the Mua Hills, the mastermind called the victim's family back in China demanding an unestablished amount of ransom which was wired to a bank account in China.
"After the money was deposited, the gang's accomplices in China confirmed that the family had complied, and the victim was released. Swinging into action, DCI's Crime Research and Intelligence detectives initiated a systematic probe into the abduction right from Mombasa Road, where two vehicles, a taxi Reg no. KDL 070P and another KAN car were picked as vehicles of interest," DCI added.
On Friday, January 12, the taxi was traced to Rongai and the owner arrested.
The driver of the taxi informed the police that on the day in question, a friend of his had borrowed his car while he (the owner) took his kids to school on the reporting day.
"Investigations revealed that the named suspect who is still at large was a former staff of the victim's company, and had been in constant communication with the arrested officers. Indeed, forensic analysis placed the four at the scene of the crime. Further investigations have also led to the recovery of the KAN vehicle which has been detained at Mlolongo Police Station," the DCI added.
DCI said Interpol operations have also been launched to pursue the gang's accomplices in China.
