What started as an otherwise pleasant journey from Nairobi to Mombasa ended with a Kenyan student based in the United Kingdom in a hospital bed, nursing the effects of suspected drugging and facing the shock of losing more than Sh2 million in cash and valuables.
Nicholas Mbuvi Ndolo was travelling to Mombasa on September 25 when he reportedly became unconscious after eating a piece of biscuit shared by a stranger. By the time he regained consciousness, his belongings, including jewellery and electronic devices valued at more than Sh2 million, were missing.
What followed was a police trail stretching from Kisauni to Magongo. Investigators traced Mr Ndolo’s stolen iPhone to Kisauni before the trail led them to Magongo, where they recovered several electronic devices, mobile phones, jewellery, bags and chemicals suspected to be stupefying substances.
Two suspects, Pius Paskale Frugence and Abdulrahman Omar, have since been arrested as detectives investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and whether it is linked to other similar cases.
On Wednesday, a Mombasa magistrate allowed detectives to detain Mr Frugence, a Tanzanian national, and Mr Omar for 21 days to facilitate investigations. Police told the court that items belonging to Mr Ndolo had been recovered from the suspects’ residence.
Abdulrahman Omar (left) and Pius Paskale Frugence when they appeared before a Mombasa court in this photo taken on September 30, 2026. They are under investigation for the alleged drugging and theft of a UK-based Kenyan student's valuables worth Sh2 million.
Photo credit: Brian Ocharo | Nation
Mr Ndolo had arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from the UK on September 6 and spent the following weeks enjoying his stay in Kenya before deciding to travel to the Coast.
On the evening of September 25, investigators say he boarded a Greenline Royal bus at about 9.30pm for the journey to Mombasa. He was seated in seat number 25 next to a man who introduced himself as Dennis.
According to the investigations, the two struck up a conversation as the journey progressed, with the stranger described as “very talkative”.
Their interaction appeared ordinary, with the two engaging in random conversations along the way. The journey, however, took a different turn after the bus stopped at Mtito Andei, where passengers alighted for a health break.
Mr Ndolo returned to the bus with a takeaway packet of pilau, which he began eating as the journey continued.
It was then that the man who had introduced himself as Dennis asked to taste the food. Mr Ndolo shared some with him.
At one point, Mr Ndolo asked the man to help him retrieve his black backpack, which contained his valuables, so that he could take out a power bank and charge the iPhone 17 and Samsung A31S he was using during the journey.
Shortly afterwards, police say, the stranger offered him a piece of biscuit.
“I took a bite but immediately noticed something unusual about its taste,” he told police.
He spat it out but soon lost consciousness. He “passed out" only to wake up in the hospital bed, at Tudor District Hospital in Mombasa.
Makupa police station. Ndolo arrived at the station, staggering and struggling to explain what had happened to him.
Photo credit: File
At about 6.30am the same day, officers at Makupa Police Station were alerted to a man who had arrived at the station staggering and struggling to explain what had happened to him.
He was found lying on a waiting bench, appearing sleepy and physically weak. With no identification documents and nobody accompanying him to explain his condition, officers rushed him to Tudor District Hospital.
At the hospital, his condition deteriorated and he became unresponsive to touch and speech, with his eyes remaining closed.
“Medics put him on a drip and administered treatment to restore his responsiveness,” said Mr Bernard Mumo, the investigating officer.
It was later in the afternoon that Mr Ndolo regained his speech, opened his eyes and was able to sit up and recount the events leading to his hospitalisation. That was when he discovered the extent of his losses.
Among the missing items were his Kenyan passport bearing a valid UK visa, Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro, laptop, folio keyboard, stylus, three magnetic power banks, charging equipment, three USB cables, three mobile phones and driving licence.
His belongings also included university and bank cards, as well as £2,975 (Sh512,533) in cash. Police placed the approximate value of the stolen property and money at Sh2 million.
After Mr Ndolo was discharged, his relatives helped him report the matter, setting in motion an investigation that would eventually lead detectives from his missing iPhone to the two suspects.
Police first visited the Greenline Royal bus offices in Mombasa to establish the identity of the passenger who had been seated next to Mr Ndolo. Passenger records showed the name Dennis Otieno and a telephone number, although the number had been switched off.
Suspected stupefying substances and assorted items recovered from the house of Frugence in Magongo, Mombasa, during investigations into the alleged drugging and theft of valuables belonging to a UK-based Kenyan student.
Photo credit: Brian Ocharo | Nation
With the help of a family member, Mr Ndolo then tracked his iPhone using Apple’s Find My application from a laptop connected to the internet.
On September 29, the signal led detectives to Kisauni, where they found Mr Omar. Police told the court that Omar threw the phone out of a window when he saw officers approaching.
After recovering the phone, detectives followed leads to Magongo, where they arrested the man who was initially identified as Dennis Otieno. The investigation then took another turn when detectives alleged that Dennis Otieno was a false identity.
Police identified the suspect as Mr Frugence, a Tanzanian national, who was identified by Mr Ndolo as the man who allegedly sat beside him on the bus.
Inside the suspect’s single-room house, where he lived with his wife, detectives alleged they recovered assorted bags containing valuables, six wallets bearing different identity details, mobile phones and accessories, jewellery, smart watches, personal documents, stationery, suitcases and other items.
They also said they recovered chemicals in glass bottles, plastic bottles and nylon packets which they suspected could be stupefying substances, as well as assorted clothes, shoes, utensils, a hammer and chisel.
Among the documents recovered was a Tanzanian passport belonging to the suspect’s wife and a Tanzanian identity card bearing Frugence’s name. Detectives also found a bus ticket booked under the name Jafeti Onyango for a return journey from Mombasa to Nairobi on September 29.
Police said the discovery raised further questions about the identity used by the suspect and whether the incident involving Mr Ndolo was an isolated case.
“He had used a fake name and had already booked another journey to Nairobi,” the officer told the court.
Detectives further told the court that investigations indicated the stolen property had allegedly been shared among several people, with Mr Omar found in possession of the iPhone 17 and other items believed to have been sent to associates in Nairobi.
Police are now seeking to establish whether the recovered chemicals were used to incapacitate victims and whether the suspects could be linked to other reported incidents involving passengers who lost valuables under similar circumstances.
The substances recovered from Frugence’s house are to be subjected to government laboratory analysis, while the recovered mobile phones will be examined by the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau.
Police also want to conduct identification parades involving other people who have reported similar incidents in Mombasa and possibly Nairobi as detectives seek to establish whether there is a wider pattern behind the cases.
The investigation remains ongoing, with officers seeking to recover items that are yet to be traced and establish the identities and roles of other people who may have been involved.
