Police in Kandara Sub County and officers from Nairobi Directorate of Criminal Investigations have rescued a woman from three suspected male kidnappers.
Police said that the suspects allegedly raped the 35- year-old woman in turns. The gang, which seized the woman in Nairobi on Friday morning, were demanding a Sh30,000 ransom.
The three are said to have called the victim's husband using her mobile phone and threatened to kill her if he failed to send the money. Kandara Police boss Michael Mwaura said the three were arrested three hours after kidnapping the woman.
"The suspects were arrested as they waited for the victim's husband to send them the ransom. They had kidnapped her near Githurai 45 estate as she headed to City Park market where she is a fruits vendor," he said.
The victim said that she was waiting to board a bus to the city centre when a private Toyota Raum vehicle pulled over and offered her a lift.
"I took up the offer...it is normal for private cars to give people lifts to the city. I knew this was not a normal lift when the driver made a U-turn near Kenyatta University, and sped towards Thika Town," she said.
“I informed the police about the incident and gave out my wife's phone number to the police," the woman’s husband told Nation.Africa .
“The three were arrested as they attempted to flee after realising that the police were trailing them. The victim was rushed to hospital for treatment. We also took the suspects to hospital to have their specimens extracted and analysed as evidence," Mr Mwaura said.
The officer said the suspects’ vehicle in which crude weapons were discovered, is being detained for further investigations since it had blood stains in its boot which points to a possibility that other victims might have fallen prey to the suspects’ exploits.
He said that the woman was in stable condition. Mr Mwaura advised members of the public to be cautious when accepting lifts from strangers. He said the three will be charged with abduction and sexual assault once investigations are completed.
