Police hunt for gang targeting Mombasa Road users
The group is believed to be behind at least five incidents reported over the past three days.
Police are on the trail of a four-man gang suspected of staging robberies along Mombasa Road while pretending to be passengers.
The group is believed to be behind at least five incidents reported over the past three days.
In light of these attacks, authorities have urged motorists and hitch-hikers to exercise caution when offering or accepting lifts from strangers.
Several victims have reportedly been targeted after unknowingly sharing rides with the suspects.
Investigations have linked the same gang to the recent theft of two vehicles—a Subaru Forester and an unregistered Toyota, both of which were reportedly en route to Kampala.
The thefts occurred within a 10-kilometre stretch between Kyumbi and Lukenya in Machakos County.
Police reports indicate that in most incidents, gang members disguise themselves as passengers before turning on unsuspecting drivers and robbing them.
One such incident occurred on Thursday when Abugi Siz, who was driving a Subaru Forester from Mombasa to Kampala for delivery, was attacked by three men he had picked up as passengers.
The assault took place near Kyumbi along the dual carriageway.
The attackers tied his hands, took control of the vehicle, and later abandoned him in a bush close to a Shell petrol station.
A similar robbery happened a day earlier, on Wednesday, involving Muta Konde. He was driving an unregistered car along Mombasa Road when he was ambushed. Konde had picked up one passenger in Voi and three others in Kibwezi.
As they approached Lukenya, one of the passengers requested a stop to relieve himself. The moment the car stopped, the group turned on Konde, subdued him, and seized the vehicle.
They then drove toward Nairobi. However, the passenger who boarded in Voi managed to leap out of the car when it made a U-turn back towards Mombasa.
Konde was bound with manila rope, robbed of his mobile phone and personal items, and thrown out of the moving vehicle.
He was later rescued by Kenya Revenue Authority officials on patrol, who escorted him to Athi River Police Station.
Earlier that week, on Monday, another victim, Gregory Mwanzau Musa, lost Sh114,050, a phone, and a wristwatch in a similar attack.
He had boarded a blue Toyota Wish—registration number KCH 395R—at Cabanas in Embakasi. The occupants claimed they were heading to Sultan Hamud.
However, when the vehicle reached Lukenya, the other four passengers attacked him and stole his belongings.
Mwanzau sustained injuries to his neck, chest, hands, and legs. He reported the incident, and one suspect, Wilson Otalo, was arrested and arraigned in court.
