Two men were on Thursday arraigned before a Meru Court and charged with robbery with violence, after kidnapping a Catholic Church nun and coercing her for ransom.
The suspects, Nixon Kinyua and Patrick Ngure, are said to have abducted the Nazarene Sisters nun on February 5, 2022, before holding her hostage for over four hours. They both pleaded not guilty and were released on bond.
According to police reports, the nun, who was traveling from Meru to Kiamuri, was waiting for a matatu at a bus stop, on the day in question, when a grey Toyota Premio pulled over and offered her a ride.
The driver of the automobile masqueraded as a good Samaritan and convinced the nun to board his vehicle after claiming he was headed in her direction.
“She fell for the trap and took the front seat as they set off for the journey. Along the way, the driver set the tempo to earn the nun’s confidence and engaged her in a lengthy conversation, on how he grew up from humble beginnings before being adopted by an Italian family,” the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said in a statement.
Things however quickly changed when the nun arrived at her destination and ask the driver to pull over. Before the driver responded, the other suspect who had conveniently stayed hidden in the back seat during the entire journey, moved to blindfold and restrain the woman using a leso.
“The two who had threatened to rape and kill the nun if she failed to heed to their demands, took cash from her purse, drained money from her M-Pesa account before coercing her to call her colleagues to ask for more money,” the DCI added.
After exhausting all avenues to forcefully obtain money from the nun, the suspects ditched her at a secluded area.
Once the matter was reported to police, detectives from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau conducted a forensic analysis which led them to the two suspects. They were nabbed along the Kitui-Kibwezi road.