Two suspected kidnappers arrested in Murang'a

Police in Murang’a have arrested two people suspected of kidnapping an elderly man in Maragua on Tuesday evening.

Thomas Mwaga was on his way to the chief’s office to report that one of his grandsons was having indiscipline issues and was skipping school.

As the old man slowly walked from his home in Ichagaki, a saloon car pulled up beside him and its two occupants offered to give him a ride to the chief’s office.

The vehicle, however, went straight to neighbouring Maragua town and the suspects, a man and a woman, asked Mwaga to withdraw Sh50,000 from his account in Unaitas Sacco.

They said they would refund the money once they got to Murang’a town.

The woman then escorted Mwaga to the Sacco’s banking hall.

However, before he could withdraw the money, the driver walked in and informed her that it was better to make the withdrawal in Murang’a town.

The three then left Maragua town to Murang’a town but the car diverted at Mbombo area and took a feeder road.

It is then that Mwaga, who is said to be over 100 years and has a slight hearing impairment realised that something was off and started making noise.

They ordered him to shut up and stole his wallet with an unknown amount of money.

The scuffle caused the vehicle to veer off the road and hit a rock by the roadside.

This gave Mwaga the chance to disembark from the vehicle, screaming that the two suspects wanted to kill him.

One of the suspects flagged down a boda boda rider and got the man from the scene as passersby who had gathered contacted the police.

Wainaina Mwaga, the victim’s son, lauded police for rushing to the scene and apprehending the suspects before they could flee.

Their vehicle, a Toyota Axio, was also towed to Maragua police station as the victim’s family was contacted.

Wainaina said the suspects took advantage of his father’s poor hearing to manipulate him and steal from him.

When we found him, Mwaga was sitting in his small kitchen basking by the fire.

He had trouble expressing himself, both from the shock of the incident and his old age.

Samuel Ndung’u, his son in law, said he received a call from his in-laws informing him of the attempted kidnapping.

The incident has shocked the family but they expressed joy that the old man is safe and the suspects did not succeed to withdraw money from his account.

Scores of residents flocked to Mwaga’s home when word went round that he had gone through the ordeal, many sympathising with the centenarian.

Peter Mwangi, a village elder, condemned the incident - the first in the village. 

Mwangi appealed to youths to strive to make money legally and avoid clashing with the law.

Area chief Daniel Kimani said the last time Maragua was rocked by kidnappings was over eight years ago when victims would be taken to Summer area where the thugs had a hide-out.

But since then, Kimani said security officers have managed to clean up the area and restore sanity.

The chief said the suspects seemed to have trailed the old man and knew when to pounce on him.

Kimani cautioned residents against boarding unknown vehicles to avoid finding themselves in similar situations.

“We are appealing to residents to report any suspicious characters in their villages,” the chief said.

The incident comes at a time when disappearances have been on the rise including security analyst Mwenda Mbijiwe, who went missing in June and is yet to be found.

Subcounty police commander Alexander Lusala confirmed that the two suspects were in custody and that they would be arraigned on Thursday.

(Edited by Bilha Makokha)