Kenyan Woman Arrested for Faking Her Own Kidnapping and Demanding Ransom from Her Mother

A young Kenyan woman who allegedly staged her own abduction and demanded a Sh30,000 ransom from her mother has been arrested.

Clare Muthoni was nabbed by detectives on Thursday night at a bar in Kangundo, Machakos County alongside her friend and accomplice Diana Wanjiku.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) says the two sent text messages to Muthoni’s mother Jane Wamuyu demanding she pays Sh30,000 to secure her daughter’s freedom. She was warned that her daughter would be killed if she failed to pay the amount or report the incident to the police.

The short messages were accompanied by a photo of Muthoni, with her hands and legs tied and a sharp knife placed beside her.

But their scheme was discovered after Wamuyu reported her daughter’s alleged abduction at Karen Police Station. 

An intelligence-led investigation led sleuths from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau to a bar in Misiani village in Kangundo, where Muthoni and Wanjiku lived.

“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,” the DCI said.

The two were put in police custody pending further investigations and arraignment.