A 23-year-old student is being held by police at the Kayole Police Station for staging a self-kidnapping in order to blackmail his parents.
Edwin Kamau, a student at the Makindu Training College, engaged in abduction on Sunday by obstructing his father’s line and pleading with his mother to transfer Sh70,000 or risk losing his life to the “kidnappers” in order to gain sympathy.
The parents of Kamau reported the incident to the police and donated Sh10,000 after repeated calls from Kamau claimed he was at the mercy of his captors. The mother was terrified of the circumstance her son was placed in. His heartbroken parents sent another Sh40,000, and police officials started looking for the kidnappers right away.
“However, the calls persisted with Kamau telling his mother that his kidnappers were on the verge of eliminating him. Determined to secure the life of their son, they sent Sh10,000 yesterday via mobile money and an additional Sh40,000 today,” DCI reports read.
Kamau went to a bar in Thika with a lady he intended to have fun with after receiving the first Sh10,000 in his mobile money wallet.
However, when it turned out that the woman had her own intentions as well, he had to abandon them. She stole the money Kamau had received and drugged his drink.
Kamau would regain consciousness and resume making frequent calls to his mother, threatening to be taken away, but police had learned of the event and had caught him before robbing his mother of yet another dollar.
“As fate would have it, the woman turned out to be a pishori admin who laced his drink with an unknown substance and stole the cash. Today after regaining control of his faculties, he called again and his parents sent a further Sh40,000 which he withdrew and secured in his shoes. By this time, detectives had closed in on him” The DCI stated.
In defense of himself, Kamau claimed he had wasted money intended for his tuition and had no other source of funding to pass and write his tests.
According to Kamau, he and two other companions, whose parents also sent the money, committed the kidnapping.
Detectives found Sh38,600 on the student, who is currently being held at the Kayole police station pending an arraignment.
