Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested five men connected to the abduction and gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in Kilifi County, reportedly as a means to punish the girl’s father over a land dispute.
The incident, which has been under investigation since June 16, 2024, involved two men aged 42 and 63 who allegedly orchestrated the girl’s abduction due to their ongoing land conflict with her father.
The two suspects, along with 21-year-old Elijah Dadi Robert, planned the abduction of the grade 8 pupil, who was subsequently held hostage at an abandoned posho mill. The girl was abducted while walking home from a local school in the Mitangoni area.
“The men identified as Karisa Kashindo, 42 and his security man Nderi Magure Mwatsuma alias Ubwete, 63 are said to have stood guard and watched as the third suspect repeatedly defiled the minor, threatening to kill her should she expose the beastly act to anyone,” DCI reported.
In the cover of darkness, the girl was brought back home, made to pack a few clothes, and then whisked away on a motorcycle to a Makuti house in Shariani, Makata village. This ordeal added to the trauma of the victim and the agony of her desperate parents, who were frantically searching for her with the help of local police.
While held at Makata, the victim, who has since been rescued and reunited with her family, revealed that her abductors brought in several other young men who also assaulted her. Two of these men, identified as Fostine Kalu Tinga, 19, and Kelvin Kiti Sanga, were arrested on June 29, 2024. Both are students in Form 2 and Form 3, respectively.
During an operation led by the Chonyi Sub-County Criminal Investigations Officer, evidential materials were found and documented from the two crime scenes. This evidence supported the victim’s allegations and pointed to the abduction of two other juveniles, whose rescue is currently underway.
All five suspects are being held at the police station in Kilifi as officers continue investigations to apprehend more individuals linked to the crime.
