DCI Flush Out Thugs Erecting Highway Roadblocks To Rob Motorists

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Saturday, May 13 arrested three suspects who were part of a gang that had been harassing motorists and robbing them of their valuables along the Kenol-Sagana highway.

The DCI revealed that the trio, whose name they did not disclose, were cornered along the highway in Makuyu, Murang'a County upon acting on intelligence.

The thugs were found to have used roadblocks placed along the major road to accost innocent motorists and rob them of their valuables.

"The highway thugs armed with machetes and other crude weapons have in the recent past been erecting roadblocks and attacking motorists along the busy highway at night. 

"Police conducted intelligence-led investigations in Makuyu within Kambiti and Kitini area, before flushing out the three from their hideout," stated the DCI.

The sleuths added that more suspects were being sought in the ongoing operation with detectives appealing for information from the public through the anonymous #FichuakwaDCI hotline 0800 722 203.

The arrest came amidst an active manhunt by the DCI for armed thugs who robbed Mwinjoyo FM, a Gospel radio station based in Nakuru, on Thursday, May 11 and manhandled staff before making away with cash and other valuables. 

Speaking to the media, Robert Kiarie and Esther Wanjiru, who were part of radio presenters and guests of the show, stated that they had been invited to a Mugithi night show from 8 pm to midnight, on the fateful night.

Kiarie, who was captured in the now-viral video, recounted how he was asked to end the show because it was almost midnight and he decided to wish listeners well.

"The door behind me suddenly opened and a man who had covered his face entered armed with a gun. I thought he was a police officer and I immediately stopped speaking," Kiarie told The Standard.

He added that three other men managed to gain access and ordered everyone to lie down, directing the presenter of the show to switch everything off.

Kiarie however noted that he stalled and remained standing up when one of the four raiders kicked him on the waist, forcing him down to the ground.

"I was scared, shocked and shaking and I thought I would be dead because the men kept threatening to kill us Al-Shabaab style," he went on.

Wanjiru on her part stated that she was prepared to die once she realised it was a robbery and began asking for forgiveness, expressing her disbelief that strangers would rob a religious station during a live broadcast.

"I have never experienced anything like that in my life. The robbers were rough and looked dangerous. They ordered me to lie down or lose my life," she said.

One of the presenters at the station, Mwangi wa Mbugua, revealed that the men tore through the electric fence to gain access to the premises, believing that they concealed themselves behind a tank within the compound.

Mbugua added that they found him in his office next to the studio and ordered him to help them access the studio, before directing him to lie face down as they robbed them of their mobile phones, cash from their pockets and valuables in their bags for the next 30 minutes.

The DCI revealed that the gun-wielding thugs made away with eight mobile phones, over Ksh35,000 in cash and eight pairs of shoes.

“The men then realized the show was live on Facebook and there were CCTV cameras in the station,” he added.

Robbers attack Mwinjoyo FM in Nakuru on May 11, 2023. /MWINJOYO FM