Two suspects have been arrested in connection with a robbery with violence and alleged gang rape in Kikuyu after detectives traced them following a road traffic accident involving the victims.
The suspects were arrested in Kamangu, Kikuyu, during a coordinated operation by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
According to the agency, the victims were involved in a road accident near Kikuyu Boys High School when the two suspects allegedly approached them while pretending to offer assistance.
The DCI said the suspects allegedly took advantage of the victims' vulnerable situation after the accident and robbed them of their valuables.
Detectives also alleged that the suspects forced the victims to disclose their M-Pesa PINs before accessing and draining their accounts.
"They descended on the vulnerable couple, robbing them of their valuables, coercing them into revealing their M-Pesa PINs before draining their accounts, and subjecting the female victim to a horrific gang rape," the DCI said in a statement.
The matter was reported to police, prompting a joint investigation involving detectives from the DCI Headquarters' Operations Action Team (OAT), the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) and Kikuyu County detectives.
According to the DCI, investigators pursued several leads through forensic analysis and intelligence gathering before tracing the two suspects to Kamangu.
The agency said the operation led to the arrest of the two suspects and the recovery of mobile phones allegedly used to facilitate fraudulent M-Pesa transactions.
"Detectives recovered the mobile phones used to facilitate the fraudulent M-Pesa transactions, as well as two pangas believed to have been used during the commission of the offences," the agency said.
The DCI said the arrests had opened a wider line of investigation as detectives seek to establish whether the suspects could be linked to other reported violent robberies and sexual offences in Kikuyu Sub-County and neighbouring areas.
Investigators are also pursuing a suspected receiver of the stolen mobile phones as they work to establish the wider network the agency alleges was involved in the offences.
The DCI said the two suspects are being held at Kikuyu Police Station as investigations continue ahead of an identification parade, further processing and possible arraignment in court.
The agency said the arrests followed information provided by members of the public, whom it credited with helping investigators make a breakthrough in the case.
The DCI urged members of the public to continue sharing information that could assist in the detection and prevention of crime.
The agency said it remains committed to pursuing suspects linked to violent crimes and dismantling criminal networks.
