Senior police officer arrested over links to kidnapping
A senior police officer has been arrested in connection with a kidnapping and extortion incident targeting a couple in Githurai, Nairobi.
A senior police officer has been arrested in connection with a kidnapping and extortion incident targeting a couple in Githurai, Nairobi.
According to a police occurrence book (OB) report from Kasarani Police Station, Inspector Kelvin Mwangi, the Deputy Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Drive In Police Post, was arrested on Thursday night and is being held to assist with investigations into a kidnapping with intent to commit a felony.
The report, referenced as OB No. 60/30/07/2026, states that the officer was arrested in connection with an earlier case reported under OB No. 55/30/07/2026 involving the kidnapping of a husband and wife in Githurai 44. Police said the suspect remains in custody as detectives pursue other suspects who are still at large.
According to investigators, the incident began at about 3p.m. on Thursday when Kanuti Konrid and his wife, Beatrice Naliaka Njoroge, travelled to Baba Ndogo to deliver an Apple Smart Watch that had been ordered by a customer online.
Police said the couple was accosted by three men in a white Toyota Axio, forced inside the vehicle, handcuffed and driven to towards Thika road and taken to a petrol station, where the suspects demanded KSh1 million to secure their release.
Investigators said Konrid managed to withdraw KSh17,000, but the suspects rejected the amount and drove the couple to an Equity Bank branch in Githurai, where Njoroge was allegedly held in the vehicle while her husband was sent into the bank to withdraw more money.
Once inside the bank, police said Konrid alerted a bank employee, who informed officers guarding the bank. Officers from the Special Crimes Prevention Unit responded, prompting the three suspects to flee from the vehicle on foot, while the driver sped off with Njoroge still inside.
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Responding officers fired warning shots in the air during the scramble, successfully cornering and arresting one suspect, identified as Stephen Okello Obewa.
Upon interrogation at Kasarani Police Station, Obewa is said to have confessed to the plot and revealed that the getaway vehicle belonged to him.
He went ahead to name his accomplices, whom he said were serving police officers.
During the initial kidnapping, the suspects are said to have robbed the couple of five mobile phones valued at KSh 120,000 and the Apple Smart Watch.
Following the botched bank extortion and the arrest of their accomplice, the fleeing suspects later released Njoroge unharmed along Kamiti Road.
According to police, information obtained during the investigation led to the arrest of Inspector Mwangi later that evening.
Police said the officer is connectected with an kidnapping and extortion ring operating within Nairobi.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Kasarani is handling the case.
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