Court allows DCI to detain six men suspected of robbing passengers in Nairobi

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has obtained court orders to hold six men arrested for allegedly luring commuters into a matatu in Ngara, Nairobi, robbing and then dumping them along the way before speeding off.

The six robbery with violence suspects include Boniface Wachira Wahome, who owns the vehicle – registration number KAQ 654A — which carried the victims before they were allegedly robbed.

Others are Jackson Kimani Thuo, Titus Mburu Njonjo, Dennis Omondi Otieno, George Vincent Otieno and John Waweru.

Njenga was allegedly found with five mobile phones suspected to be among those stolen from the victims of the alleged robberies.

Cpl. Paul Wainaina of the DCI's Operation Support Unit (OSU) told a Milimani court that he is investigating cases of robbery with violence where the six men are the suspects.

But Wahome said he only owns the motor vehicle and is not involved in its day-to-day activities, and was only arrested after being summoned to Parklands Police Station.

Wainaina was seeking the court's orders to detain Wahome and the other five at Capitol Hill Police Station for 14 days during investigations.

Most of the cases were reported at the Parklands Police Station in Westlands Sub-County and one at the Shauri Moyo Police Station in Kamukunji Sub-County.

One of the cases at the Parklands Police Station was reported by Nelly Ann Itera who boarded the vehicle at Ngara on September 3, 2024, on her way to the city centre and sat at the front seat.

The matatu's conductor urged her to close the door while the other passenger next to the driver asked to hold her bag as she shut the door. She then realised that her phone was missing.

The conductor claimed that her phone had fallen off on Onjijo Road but refused to take her back to collect it.

"But they (driver and conductor) became violent and the complainant (Ms Itera) started screaming, thereby attracting the attention of police officers who were on patrol within the Ngara area," Wainaina said in his affidavit filed in court.

"The driver then became reckless due to the alarm raised by (Itera), thereafter leading to a road traffic accident caused by a collision between this particular vehicle (KAQ 654A) and another, registration number KCX 259G a Nissan, red in colour."

During the accident, the matatu landed on the side of the road, trapping Ms Itera inside as the passengers and the driver fled, abandoning her.

She was rescued by pedestrians who recovered her mobile phone but the Sh400 stolen from her bag was not found.

Cpl. Wainaina said preliminary investigations led to the arrest of the six suspects. He further revealed that there has been a rise in robbery cases reported within the city centre where criminals seated in matatus have been robbing passengers during rush hours.

"Once the unsuspecting victims enter the said car, they are robbed and if they insist on questioning, they are forcefully thrown out of moving vehicles. So far we have recorded statements from a victim (name withheld) who reported a similar case at Shauri Moyo Police Station," stated Wainaina.