Leaders and residents in Mombasa have raised concern about a disturbing pattern of teenagers going missing, only for some to be later found in Nairobi.
The trend has raised questions about how the teenagers are being lured, transported and held captive hundreds of kilometres away.
The most recent incident involved two minors aged 16 and 17 who were rescued over the weekend after allegedly being held captive for more than a week in Kasarani, Nairobi following their abduction from Kiembeni.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have turned their attention to electronic evidence, including M-Pesa statements, call logs and account details linked to a suspect who was purportedly involved in kidnapping the two teenagers.
The suspect, human rights activist Caleb Ngwena, was on Monday presented before the Shanzu Law Courts, where detectives were granted 14 days to complete their investigations.
Caleb Ngwena arraigned at the Shanzu Law Courts on September 7, 2026, where he was charged with defilement and child trafficking of two minors who were abducted in Kiembeni before DCI Officers rescued them in Kiambu.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit| Nation Media Group
The court accepted the prosecution’s argument that the alleged victims were vulnerable and that their rights and welfare needed to be protected during the investigations. The magistrate also agreed with the prosecution that releasing Ngwena at this stage could compromise evidence that investigators are seeking and interfere with the integrity of the investigation.
The two girls, who are neighbours in Kiembeni and friends who normally walk together, disappeared on the night of August 25. Their mothers, JWK and TWM, reported them missing at Kiembeni Police Station the following day.
JWK reported that her 16-year-old daughter, VMK, a Form Three student, had gone missing, while TWM reported the disappearance of her 17-year-old daughter, TWG, also a Form Three student.
Ngwena was arrested at his home in Kiembeni at about 11.45pm on September 2 and booked at Mjambere Police Station.
Caleb Ngwena arraigned at the Shanzu Law Courts on September 7, 2026, where he was charged with defilement and child trafficking of two minors who were abducted in Kiembeni before DCI Officers rescued them in Kiambu.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit| Nation Media Group
According to the police, the suspect travelled to Nairobi with DCI Kisauni officers on September 3 in the search for the two girls. They were rescued the following day in Kasarani, with investigators saying Ngwena assisted in locating them.
The girls allegedly told investigators that they had been forcibly taken by Ngwena and another man on the night they disappeared.
They reportedly said they were bundled into an unidentified vehicle and driven from Kiembeni to Nairobi before being taken to Kiambu County, where they were allegedly locked in a room and sexually abused.
Went missing while running errands
According to the police, there was extensive communication and transfer of money to the girls’ mobile phones during the period under investigation. The SIM cards used by the girls were registered in their mothers’ names.
The police are seeking records from Safaricom for five M-Pesa accounts covering the period between July 20 and September 6. The records sought include account opening documents, M-Pesa statements and call data.
Investigators are also pursuing records relating to three Airtel Money accounts and their associated call data for the same period.
The police have also obtained authority to examine four mobile phones seized during the investigation. They include an Oppo A9 2020, a Samsung Galaxy A04e, a Calus W999 and a Nokia handset.
The Anti-Terrorism Police Unit has been authorised to access the devices, inspect their contents and extract files and programmes installed on them as investigators seek information that could shed light on the circumstances surrounding the girls’ disappearance and their subsequent rescue.
“The additional detention period was necessary to obtain medical reports for the two girls, analyse call data and money transfer records, extract information from the mobile phones and record statements from additional witnesses,” said Mr John Andama, the investigating officer.
Investigators also said Ngwena was assisting them in efforts to arrest other suspects linked to the case. The police are expected to forward the completed investigation file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration once the investigations are finalised.
Ngwena, through his lawyer, opposed the continued detention and urged the court to release him on bond pending the completion of the investigations.
The defence challenged the police application, describing it as incompetent and arguing that it could not be amended under the law. The lawyer also disputed the prosecution’s account of Ngwena’s movements before his arrest.
According to the defence, Ngwena and the police team spent the night of September 2 in Makindu before travelling to Nairobi the following day, where he was subsequently placed in custody pending investigations.
The lawyer disputed the police claim that Ngwena led officers to Nairobi in the search for the two girls.
“The police took the respondent to Nairobi; it is not that he took them to Nairobi,” the lawyer told the court.
The defence maintained that there was no justification for keeping Ngwena in custody for the requested period and urged the court to grant him bond while allowing investigators to complete their inquiries. The case will be mentioned on September 21.
The incident came about two weeks after a similar one, in which an 18-year-old girl went missing while running errands for her mother within the Mombasa Central Business District, only to be found later in Nairobi.
According to Mombasa Woman Representative Zamzam Mohamed, about 13 incidents of teenagers going missing in Mombasa have been reported since August. She called on parents to be vigilant and closer to their children so as to avert such occurrences.
“Things aren’t good out here. Many teenagers are going missing, so I urge parents to keenly look after their children. Sit together with your children, talk to them, understand their challenges,” she said at the Ziwani Seventh Day Adventist Camp Meeting last weekend.
All the victims have been taken for medical examination and counselling, while statements have been recorded from the families.
