Ciku Muiruri: Police Probe SMS Demanding Ksh250K In Daughter Abduction

According to the text, Erica was allegedly abducted by a Somali national, who threatened to disappear with her past the Kenya-Somalia border

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Jun 7, 2023 - 18:55
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Ciku Muiruri: Police Probe SMS Demanding Ksh250K In Daughter Abduction
Media personality, Ciku Muiruri. /FILE

Police said on Tuesday, June 6 that a message demanding a Ksh250,000 ransom was sent from the phone of media personality Ciku Muiruri’s missing daughter, Erica Njeri Gachoka.

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations' (DCI) Operations Support Unit (OSU) revealed that the message was sent to the missing woman’s maternal uncle.

According to the text, Erica was allegedly abducted by a Somali national, who threatened to disappear with her past the Kenya-Somalia border if the ransom was not sent by the end of the day.

A roadblock mounted by police. /FILE

“Please I was kidnapped last 9te (night) by some Somali and I am almost headed to Somalia if 250k is not sent by COB (close of business) tomorrow. Please help,” read part of the message, which was shared with the authorities.

Erica and her friend Shanice Agose were said to have been abducted in Nairobi on Sunday, June 4 but apart from the message, there has been no communication from the alleged abductors.

A multi-agency team investigating the case widened the scope of the investigations following reports that the two could have been snuck out of the country.

The probe involves analysis of the texts with a view to establishing the phone’s location when the message was sent among other things.

Muiruri, a mother of two and a radio legend, took to Facebook on the night of June 4 to report how her daughter Erica and her friend Shanice were abducted by a taxi driver.

"Peace be with you all. Novena is below. But first, I have a very special favour to ask each and every one of you. In the early hours of Sunday morning (2 am), my daughter and a friend of hers were abducted by a taxi driver," she wrote. 

"We know that prayers can move mountains. Stop wars. Please pray for my daughter Erica Njeri and her friend Shanice Agose as part of your intentions. Also, and this is very important, pray for those who have taken them, that their souls may not be lost."

The distraught mother went on to ask her followers to join her in seeking God's hand in the matter while also attaching a prayer - part of the catholic 'Novena' series of prayers she has been conducting over the last week.

"I'm going to do everything in my power to get her home safely but I know that we cannot even tie our shoes without God's Grace.

"I have no control over what they are doing to her, where she is or if I will ever see her alive again. Only God can help her," added the distraught mother who vowed not to eat until she is reunited with her child.

She further prayed for the safe return of her child, crying out that "And I have faith that with all your prayers, she will be returned to me safe and sound. Jesus, I Trust in You. Please, Lord, don't let them harm my baby."

Erica is a 26-year-old University of Nottingham alumni and the founder of the Le Ngai Foundation. She has also passionately pushed for easy access to blood for all Kenyans and even participated in the 2013 Chicago Marathon to raise money for a mobile blood unit.

She participated in the race to help the BloodLink Foundation raise Ksh4.3 million to purchase a mobile blood donation unit to help mobilize blood donors to ensure sufficient safe blood for needy Kenyans.

Media personality, Ciku Muiruri. /FACEBOOK

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