Detectives investigating the disappearance of city businessman Dafton Mwitiki have introduced a fresh twist, a tangent away from the angle they had been pursuing for the past 10 days.
When Mwitiki’s phone went unanswered and he did not make it home on March 11, his family reported him as missing at the Kilimani police station.
The following Thursday, detectives recovered his vehicle abandoned near a coffee farm in Juja.
His family and friends describe Mwitiki as a loving family man who always lent a helping hand to those close to him.
However, sources close to the investigation painted a different picture of a man who caught the attention of Kenyans during the DusitD2 hotel attack in 2019 after a picture of him and Starehe politician Steve Mbogo holding sophisticated firearms went viral.
Investigators now say Mwitiki is one of the key leaders of a brutal, well-organized kidnapping ring that they say is responsible for high profile kidnappings and disappearances in and around the city.
Sources have told Nairobi News that he was linked to two recent abduction in Nairobi, one reportedly involving a Chinese man in which a Sh100 million ransom demand was made.
Four suspects, among them Administration Police officers, were killed by Special Service Unit officers during a rescue mission on February 29, in an incident that attracted the attention of the DCI and NIS.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations said the foreign national was kidnapped at his shop on February 27 by a gang of people who posed as its officers.
“Forensic intelligence led the investigating team to Hse no. 2199, where the victim was being held under an armed four-men-guard, who had demanded a $1million (Sh100 million) ransom from his brother to secure his release,” the DCI said on Twitter.
Detectives recovered a pistol, several rounds of ammunition and a Nissan Tiida vehicle, registration KCW 731L.
Following a further probe, sleuths found that a number registered to Mwitiki was reportedly used to demand the ransom.
On January 13, a university student was abducted and the kidnappers demanded Sh100 million, and the incident was reported at Kilimani police station but was later withdrawn after the family managed to negotiate with the kidnappers.
The family managed to pay Sh4 million and again detectives linked Mwitiki’s number to the incident.
Detectives investigating the issue told Nairobi News last week that CCTV footage on Thika Road showed Mwitiki’s car being driven by an unknown person on the night he went missing.
“We believe he then dumped the vehicle near a thicket around Juja Oakland Estate, Kiambu County. We are investigating to find out who was behind the wheel,”
Mwitiki is a licensed firearm holder and a member of the National Gun Owners Association.
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