Two men were yesterday charged with robbery with violence, after kidnapping a Catholic Church nun and coercing her for ransom.
Appearing before a Meru Court, Nixon Kinyua and Patrick Ngure, who were arrested after they took the nun hostage on February 5, for over four hours pleaded not guilty and were released on bond.
According to a report by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the nun, a missionary from Nazarene Sisters, was traveling towards Meru from Kiamuri on the fateful day, when a grey Toyota Premio pulled over at the bus stop.
The driver of the automobile masqueraded as a good Samaritan and convinced the nun to board his vehicle after claiming he was headed in her direction.
“Along the way, the driver set the tempo to earn the nun’s confidence and engaged her in a lengthy conversation, on how he grew up from humble beginnings before being adopted by an Italian family.
As the car snaked its way through the mountainous terrain that is characteristic of the Meru countryside, the conversion grew as the man thanked the nun for their humanitarian work, in the service of humanity,” stated the police report.
However, there was a turn of events when the nun arrived at her destination and asked the driver to pull over.
“Before the driver responded, the other suspect who had conveniently stayed hidden in the back seat during the entire journey, moved to blindfold and restrained the woman using a leso,” read the report.
The two who had threatened to rape the nun if she failed to heed to their demands, drained money from her Mpesa Account before they coerced her to call her colleagues and ask for more money.
After they had exhausted all the avenues to forcefully obtain money from her, they dumped her in a secluded area and took off.
Detectives from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau took over investigations into the crime and through digital forensic analysis conducted at the DCI National Forensic Laboratory, managed to arrest the two suspects along the Kitui-Kibwezi road, as they preyed for more victims.
“Members of the public are advised to be cautious and avoid accepting rides from strangers posing as good samaritans,” advised DCI.
