A nine year old
has been rescued from the hands of criminals who kidnapped him on his way to school two weeks ago.
The officers drawn from the flying squad, special crime prevention, and the CID stormed the house where Evanson Kiguru Muiruri was being held by his four kidnappers in Kisii Estate,Thika town.
Police said that they arrested three of the culprits and shot one of them as he tried to escape.
The injured is admitted to Thika level Five Hospital while his accomplices were taken to Makuyu police station waiting to be arraigned at Kigumo law courts on Friday.
Kiguru, a pupil at St Veronica Elite School in Kabati, Murang’a County was kidnapped by the four men who were in a saloon car as he headed to school on October 14.
The criminals sped off towards Nairobi when teachers who saw the incident raised alarm.
According to the boy’s father James Muiruri, he received a call from his son’s teacher who informed him what had transpired .
Muiruri said that since then the criminals have been calling him demanding a Sh50 million ransom to release the boy but they only managed to raise Sh25,000.
“We sent them the money we got but they returned it to us warning us that we were joking with our son’s life,’ he said.
“We’ve been having sleepless nights since our son was kidnapped and again we could not afford the money they were demanding,” Muiruri said.
“I pleaded with them not to hurt or kill my child and promised to give them the money once I got it. It’s then that the police tracked them to a rented house in Kisii Estate in Thika. My only worry was that they’d have killed my son as they had threatened to if I failed to give them the cash,” he said.
The boy, however, said that the four did not hurt him and that they fed him well.
Kisii residents who spoke to the star said that the house was previously occupied by a pastor who left after realizing that it was built on a road reserve.
The locals said that security in the area had deteriorated and criminals were turning the area into hiding dens.
“Police officers must raise their game and flush out all criminals from this area. We don’t want our estate to be turned into a hiding den for thugs and criminals,” said resident Mary Waigwe.
Thika police boss Erastus Muthamia said that police acted on intelligence reports and a tip-off from locals about suspicious people in the area.
Police recovered sim cards, blankets, and food stuff from the house.
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