At 12pm on Thursday last week, four men claiming to be police officers in civilian clothes stormed Ms Beatrice Wanjiru’s rented house in Lanet’s Pemways Estate, Nakuru East sub-county, as she prepared lunch for her family.
Ms Wanjiru was with her husband, Mr Vincent Motari, 25, and his brother Alfred Omboto, 38, who both work as masons in the Lanet area.
The men ordered the two brothers to step out of the house, handcuffed them, closed the door and bundled them into a white car that was waiting outside the gate before they drove off.
Ms Wanjiru said the ‘police officers’ claimed they arrested Mr Motari and Mr Omboto after being informed that they were smoking bhang in the house.
Ms Wanjiru said she called for help from neighbours. They responded to the distress call, but the abductors had already sped away.
She tried calling her husband to inquire which police station they were being taken to, but the calls went unanswered and the phone was switched off at about 5pm.
Rose Moraa with photos of her brother, Vincent Mutali, who was abducted by unknown people in Nakuru and is yet to be found.
Photo credit: Richard Maosi | Nation Media Group
The family searched for the brothers at several police stations. But to their surprise, the two were not booked at any of them and have not been seen since. Their phones were switched off.
“The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has taken over the matter to establish the identity of the four men who arrested the two brothers. The investigators are also tracing the whereabouts of the brothers,” said Nakuru East Sub-County Police Commander Hellena Kabukuru.
The past seven days have been agonising for Ms Wanjiru and her family. They have gone from one police station to another searching for the two.
“When they took them away, I thought they would book them in a police station but that was not the case. I even took time to report, thinking that they were arrested and would be released later. But it turned out they were abducted. We hope we will find them alive,” Ms Wanjiru said.
She said her husband had not told her that his life was in danger and did not show any sign of distress.
That day, she said, Mr Motari had reported to a construction site but he did not get any work. He returned home early with his brother.
Ms Wanjiru said she met Mr Motari early last year in Ol Kalou, Nyandarua, where she worked as a shop attendant and he worked as a mason.
The two started living together as husband and wife before moving to Lanet in January when Mr Motari secured a job at a construction site through Mr Omboto.
“His brother used to visit us and we would cook and eat together. They never told me if they had any problem. I just hope the authorities speed up investigations,” Ms Wanjiru said.
Their friend, Mr Moses Kinuthia, is also reported to have disappeared on Wednesday, moments after leaving for work. His wife, Ms Tabitha Njoki, 28, said she last saw him on Wednesday morning when the two had breakfast and he left for work.
Ms Njoki, who resides in Ol Kalou, said she visited her husband in Nakuru on Tuesday after he asked to see their last-born child.
The mother of five said Mr Kinuthia’s phone went off moments after she informed him that she had arrived in Nyandarua after visiting him.
“His phone was switched from that Wednesday, forcing me to travel back to Nakuru to see what might be the problem. But Ms Wanjiru also informed me that her husband and her brother-in-law had also gone missing, prompting us to start the search. We just hope we will find them safe,” Ms Njoki said.
