Fears of city matatu crime gang drugging and robbing female passengers

kilam · 2016-10-24T09:28:43+00:00

Police officers in Nairobi were Sunday evening interrogating a matatu driver suspected of being part of a gang drugging and robbing female passengers in a crime syndicate that has shocked the city. Patrick Kinyanjui Thuku, 33, was arrested hours after a woman named Caroline Karimi Mwari took to social media on Saturday to recount her ordeal in the hands of a matatu crew belonging to Dakika MO Sacco. The suspect is believed to have been the driver, while his conductor was still at large at the time of publishing this story. The driver is expected in court Monday. Ms Mwari’s account of what transpired after she boarded the matatu in the city has become a talking point on social and legacy media, and in a brutal, dreadful way exposes the risks facing Kenyan commuters who use a largely unpoliced, and therefore lawless, commuter service. She said she boarded the matatu in the company of two other female passengers at Nakumatt Prestige on Ngong Road and sat on the co-driver’s seat. ATTEMPTED TO STOP The short journey towards the city centre was uneventful, but on reaching the Kenyatta National Hospital stage, the driver attempted to stop her from disembarking from the matatu by grabbing her bag and pulling her back in. At the same time, other men started jamming the matatu’s door, “pushing me and roughing me up”, she said in a Facebook post. The driver, she added, was holding a syringe against her ribcage, threatening to inject her with a substance that she assumed was dangerous. She hit him with her handbag across the face and, in the ensuing confusion, jumped out. Speaking to the Nation from the Kilimani Police Station, where she had gone to take part in a suspect identification parade Sunday evening, Ms Mwari repeated her claims, insisting she had been assaulted despite denials by the matatu crew. PASSENGERS UNCONSCIOUS She said that, after jumping out of the van, she looked back and noticed that other passengers seemed unconscious. She started shouting for help but got none from the men who had milled around the scene. While she escaped the snare, she suspected other girls who were in the van were not as lucky. She later realised that her mobile phone, two ATM cards, her national identity card, and Sh3,000 in cash had been stolen. She reported the matter at the Kilimani Police Station a few minutes after the attack, and detectives immediately circulated the vehicle’s registration details. MATATU SPOTTED IN KAWANGWARE Administration Police officers in Kawangware spotted the matatu on Sunday and arrested the driver, who admitted driving the van on Saturday but denied Ms Mwari claims. It was not immediately clear whether this was an isolated incident or just one among many others involving rogue passenger service crew. However, police sources indicated that more people could have fallen victim to such attacks, and that because the assaults and kidnappings could have led to rape, some might have opted not to make police reports due to self-blame, embarrassment, or lack of trust in the criminal justice system. Police have, however, called upon any other victims or witnesses to report to the nearest police station for action. Meanwhile, the matatu, registration number KAS 253V, is detained at the Kilimani Police Station as police investigate the attack. Kilimani Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss Phyllis Kanina told the Nation that her team was hunting down any other gang members who may have been involved in the attack. “We are also liaising with the Lang’ata Police Station, where similar cases have been reported,” she said. Is this Kenya’s most dangerous matatu? – VIDEO

Thread starter kilam
Start date Oct 24, 2016

kilam

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Fears of city matatu crime gang drugging and robbing female passengers

kilam

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