DCI Arrests 29-Yr-Old Househelp Who Stole Ksh2.2M Hidden In Employer's Bedroom

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arrested a 29-year-old househelp who orchestrated a daring heist and vanished with Ksh2.2 million from her employer’s home.

According to DCI's statement on Sunday, March 30, Fleviar Muhonja Anaya was cornered by detectives from DCI Nairobi Regional Headquarters and their Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau counterparts in a joint operation.

The incident occurred on March 16, 2025, when Muhonja’s employer left her at home to run errands, unaware of the betrayal about to unfold.

Hours later, a security guard reported seeing Muhonja leaving the residence with a large carrier bag. When questioned, she claimed she was delivering an item for her boss.

"Sensing something was not right, since she had not given such instructions, she quickly tried to reach her house help, only to find the phone switched off," stated the DCI in part.

"Rushing back home, panic turned into horror when she discovered that the Ksh2.2 million she had kept safely in her bedroom had vanished, just like her househelp."

A forensic-led investigation was swiftly launched, leading detectives to Malava, Kakamega County, where Muhonja was tracked down and arrested. Under interrogation, she directed authorities to Kapsoi, Vihiga County, where Ksh700,000 was recovered from her grandmother’s house.

The operation then extended to her rural home in Kipkaren, Uasin Gishu County, where detectives retrieved three chain links allegedly purchased using the stolen funds. Further searches in Nairobi’s South B, Fuata Nyayo area, uncovered an additional Ksh800,000 hidden in her rented house.

"Now in custody at Capitol Hill Police Station, Muhonja is undergoing processing as she awaits her day in court," DCI added. Muhonja could be arraigned on Tuesday, April 1, as Monday, March 31, is a public holiday in celebration of Idd-ul-Fitr.

This adds to the several cases of domestic workers being involved in criminal activities targeting their employers, stressing the importance of vetting individuals before employing them as house helps, some of whom have been accused of colluding with criminal elements to rob Kenyans and harm them.

On February 18, DCI arrested a 29-year-old man linked to a robbery with violence incident in Kirinyaga County. It was revealed that the man was sent by a house help who urged them to attack her former employer in an attempt to recover an alleged unpaid salary balance of Ksh1,800.

The robbers the househelp hired had made off with two mobile phones, a 50-inch television, a microwave, and the complainant’s sky-blue Honda Fit. Inside the vehicle was a purse containing Ksh12,000, an ID card, and other personal documents.

In January this year, DCI detectives arrested a Ugandan househelp, two months after she played a role in a shocking assault inside a home in Eastleigh, Nairobi, targeting her employer. The nanny was on the run following her involvement in the daring robbery plot captured on CCTV and first reported by Viral Tea on November 3, 2024, two days after the incident unfolded.

On July 19, 2022, DCI arrested a woman who took off with Ksh4 million from her employer, Nelson Gaichuhie, who was then the National Treasury Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS).

The suspect, identified as Miriam Mwelu, who was accompanied by her partner, Timothy Akoi, was found at a renowned witch doctor’s house in Gachie, Kiambu County, where Mwelu had gone to evade capture by detectives who were hunting her down.

An assortment of jewellery and money recovered from Miriam Mwelu. /DCI