Woman Kidnaps Herself, Demands Ksh 30,000 From Parents

Have you previously heard of a person who staged his/her own kidnapping with the hope of defrauding his/her parents? Two days ago, Jane Wamuyu, a resident of Sattelite in Riruta, received disturbing messages from her daughter’s phone number.

She was informed that her daughter Clare Muthoni had been kidnapped and her captors were demanding a ransom of 30,000 shillings to secure her release. “Failure to which, her throat would be slit open.”

To prove their mettle, a photo of a purportedly shaken Muthoni, with her hands and legs tied was sent to her mother. To complete the set, a kitchen knife was also displayed in the photos, sending Muthoni’s mother in a fit of panic.

She was further warned not to disclose anything to the Police, failure to which her daughter’s appointment with her creator would be hastened. But Muthoni’s mother with no other place to run confided in the DCI and made her report at Karen Police Station.

Detectives from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau immediately took over the matter. Their intelligence-led investigations led them to Misiani village in Kangudo.

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After laying their ambush, anticipating to pounce on the kidnappers, they found out that there were no kidnappers other than Muthoni who was at a local Bar. Accompanied by a friend identified as Diana Wanjiku, they had taken up residence at Website Bar, after escaping from Nyeri where they both lived.

Detectives uncovered that Muthoni had hatched the plan to stage her own kidnapping, then demand a ransom from her own mother, ostensibly to secure her release. Both Muthoni and Diana who took the photos are in lawful custody awaiting arraignment.

This sounds like a movie but is a real-time narration of the Directorate of Criminal Investigation official Twitter handle.