The arrest of four suspects in Kasarani on Tuesday has revived the July kidnapping and extortion case involving Drive-Inn Police Station Crime Section boss Inspector Kelvin Mwangi.
By SANDRA MULOMI
Two police officers on interdiction are among four suspects arrested in Nairobi’s Kasarani area for allegedly posing as police officers, arresting members of the public and extorting money from them.
Kasarani Sub-County Police Commander Nicholas Kiprono said the four were arrested after allegedly arresting Silas Mwangi Wahogo and forcing him to pay Sh15,000 after planting bhang on him.
“After accusing him of smoking bhang, they forced him to give them Sh15,000 to secure his release,” Kiprono told journalists.
Kiprono identified the two interdicted officers as Police Constable Silas Onyango Okello, who was interdicted in March 2023 while attached to Kahawa Sukari Police Station, and Police Constable Omar Juma Boge, who was interdicted in March 2018 while attached to Railway Police Station.
The two were arrested alongside civilians Stephen Okello Ombewa and Job Singiga Munibi.
Police said the four were using a grey Toyota Alion, registration number KCN 371M, to target unsuspecting members of the public within Kasarani and surrounding areas.
Kiprono said the suspects, who were scheduled to appear in court today, could be linked to several cases of robbery with violence, kidnapping and extortion reported in Nairobi and the Central region.
The arrest of the two interdicted officers comes barely one-and-a-half months after Kasarani police arrested the Deputy Officer Commanding Drive-Inn Police Station (OCS), Inspector Kelvin Mwangi, and three other officers over alleged kidnapping and extortion.
Ironically, Mwangi, who has since resumed his duties at Drive-Inn Police Station, was arrested alongside Ombewa, who was again arrested yesterday with the two interdicted officers.
Police sources said some of the suspects arrested yesterday had also been linked to the July incident involving Inspector Mwangi.
Mwangi and his co-suspects were accused of violently robbing Kanuti Konrad, a Tanzanian national, of an iPhone 17 valued at Sh60,000, a Nokia phone valued at Sh1,000 and two Mimic mobile phones valued at Sh15,000.
According to police records, Mwangi and his accomplices allegedly used actual violence against Konrad during the incident.
Konrad’s ordeal began as a routine online business delivery. He and his wife, Beatrice Naliaka, had travelled to Baba Ndogo to deliver an Apple Smart Watch ordered online.
Upon arrival, they were allegedly ambushed, handcuffed and forced into a waiting white Toyota Axio.
The suspects allegedly forced Konrad to withdraw Sh17,000 at a nearby service station before demanding a Sh1 million ransom.
They later drove to an Equity Bank branch in Githurai 44, keeping Naliaka hostage in the vehicle while sending Konrad into the bank to withdraw the ransom.
Once inside, Konrad secretly alerted a bank teller, who signalled armed guards and a nearby Special Crimes Prevention Unit patrol team.
In the ensuing chaos, police fired warning shots, leading to the arrest of Ombewa, who allegedly owned the getaway vehicle.
During interrogation, Ombewa reportedly implicated several serving police officers in the alleged syndicate, leading to the subsequent arrest of Inspector Mwangi later that evening.
However, the case took an unexpected turn as Mwangi and his accomplices were preparing to be arraigned.
Konrad and Naliaka filed sworn affidavits informing the court that they no longer wished to pursue the case and asked that the charges be withdrawn.
Sources told The People Tribune that the couple, who are foreigners, had allegedly been threatened by people believed to be associated with Mwangi’s alleged criminal network.
The magistrate subsequently ruled that the application had been made voluntarily and allowed the withdrawal of the case under Section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The allegations of intimidation raised questions about the vulnerability of complainants in cases involving serving police officers, particularly where suspects may have access to colleagues within the service.
Ombewa had reportedly told investigators that several serving officers were involved in an alleged kidnapping and abduction network in which victims were held for ransom.
Inspector Mwangi, who has since resumed his duties at Drive-Inn Police Station, where he is in charge of the Crime Section, has also been linked to several previous alleged criminal incidents.
Claims that he has repeatedly escaped arrest or prosecution through alleged intimidation of complainants have also emerged.
The allegations have raised questions over whether internal disciplinary mechanisms within the National Police Service have been activated against Inspector Mwangi over the July incident and the allegations levelled against him.
