Police in Nairobi have arrested and charged a gang of six individuals who posed as matatu operators in Ngara, robbing passengers of their valuables and kidnapping others before abandoning them.
The arrests followed a tip-off from a member of the public, which prompted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to act swiftly.
The DCI apprehended Boniface Wachira Mwangi, Jackson Kimani Thuo, Titus Mburu Njonjo, Dennis Omondi Otieno, George Vincent Otieno, and John Waweru Njenga. Authorities found them in possession of five mobile phones and a tablet, leading to suspicions of their involvement in a series of robberies. Efforts to locate a female gang member are ongoing, according to the DCI.
The DCI has secured court orders to detain the six men for allegedly luring commuters into their matatu, robbing them, and then abandoning them during the journey. Among the suspects is Boniface Wachira Wahome, the owner of the vehicle with registration number KAQ 654A, which was used to transport the victims before the alleged robberies.
Cpl. Paul Wainaina of the DCI’s Operation Support Unit (OSU) informed a Milimani court about the investigation into cases of robbery with violence involving these suspects.
Wahome claimed he only owns the vehicle and does not participate in its daily operations. He stated that he was arrested after being summoned to the Parklands Police Station.
Cpl. Wainaina requested the court to allow the detention of Wahome and the other five suspects at Capitol Hill Police Station for 14 days as investigations continue. Most of the robbery cases have been reported at the Parklands Police Station in Westlands Sub-County, while one case was filed at the Shauri Moyo Police Station in Kamukunji Sub-County.
One notable case involved Nelly Ann Itera, who boarded the vehicle in Ngara on September 3, 2024, on her way to the city center. Itera sat in the front seat, where the matatu’s conductor urged her to close the door. Another passenger next to the driver asked to hold her bag as she shut the door. It was at that moment that she realized her phone was missing.
The conductor claimed her phone had fallen off on Onjijo Road but refused to take her back to retrieve it. “But they (the driver and conductor) became violent, and the complainant (Ms. Itera) started screaming, attracting the attention of police officers who were patrolling the Ngara area,” Wainaina stated in his affidavit filed in court.
The driver became reckless due to the alarm raised by Itera, leading to a traffic accident when their vehicle, registration number KAQ 654A, collided with another vehicle, a red Nissan with registration number KCX 259G.
During the incident, the matatu tipped over onto its side, trapping Itera inside while the other passengers and the driver fled, leaving her behind. 
Fortunately, pedestrians came to her rescue and recovered her mobile phone; however, the Ksh400 stolen from her bag was never found.
Cpl. Wainaina confirmed that preliminary investigations led to the arrest of the six suspects. He also highlighted a worrying trend of increasing robbery cases in the city center, where criminals in matatus have been targeting unsuspecting passengers during rush hours.
“Once the unsuspecting victims enter the vehicle, 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.
