The ordeal began on September 10, 2025, when the
businessman, who owns a supermarket in Machakos Town, was driving along the
Machakos–Kangundo road toward Kamulu.
A motorcycle rammed into his vehicle from behind, forcing him to stop and
inspect the damage. Unaware of the trap laid for him, he was immediately
confronted by three men, two reportedly carrying rifles.
The gang blindfolded him using a black
polythene waste disposal bag and bundled him into the boot of his own Land
Cruiser.
Terrified, he told police later that the men drove at high speed for hours
before stopping in a bushy area.
There, they robbed him of Sh213,000 in cash and his mobile phone before
abandoning him in the thicket.
Disoriented but alive, the businessman walked
on foot until he reached the Machakos–Wote tarmac road, where a boda boda rider
ferried him to Machakos Police Station.
Officers rushed him to hospital for
treatment before launching a search for the vehicle and his attackers.
Hours later, the missing Land Cruiser was
discovered abandoned more than 400 kilometers away in Maseno, Kisumu County.
It was towed to Maseno Police Station as evidence, where it was expected to
remain secure as investigations unfolded.
But what seemed like progress quickly turned
into another twist. Days after being impounded, the vehicle mysteriously
disappeared again, this time from inside the station’s own yard.
The irony was not lost on investigators: a vehicle recovered by police had
allegedly been stolen from under their noses.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal
Investigations (DCI) in Nairobi were dispatched to Kisumu, and after days of
quiet surveillance, suspicion fell on officers attached to Maseno Police
Station.
On September 22, 2025, eight officers were rounded up and arrested. They
were transferred to Kisumu Central Police Station, where they remain in custody
pending interrogation and possible arraignment.
According to investigators, the eight are
accused of colluding in the theft of the Land Cruiser, betraying the public
trust placed in them.
The car’s whereabouts remain unknown, with detectives intensifying efforts
to trace it.
The incident has stirred unease within the
security sector, once again raising questions about discipline, accountability,
and corruption within police ranks.
Senior officials, however, have described the case as isolated, insisting it
is being handled professionally.
It is not the first time police officers have
been linked to crime, but the disappearance of an already recovered vehicle
from a police yard has shocked many Kenyans, highlighting the urgent need for
reforms in handling seized property.
