A THIRTY MINUTES KIDNAP ORDEAL
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hat fateful evening of 17th Feb. 2010 will remain ringing in Mr. Mae Saro (pictured), the computer guru and teacher at HGS School Mombasa when he was kidnapped for about thirty minutes. It all started when Mae decided to visit a nearby ATM machine located at Nakumatt Nyali supermarket so that he could get some cash for his upkeep not knowing that he was being trailed by a gang of kidnappers.
After withdrawing the cash (precisely 1000/=), he went straight to the Matatu state where he would board a Matatu to the Shanzu suburbs where he resides but that was never to happen too soon. In the waiting mood a gentle man dressed in maroon faded t-shirt came and stood close to him like any other person waiting to board a Matatu. Hardly a minute passed a white saloon car with tinted windows approached where he was standing, inside the car there were three middle aged men, the driver, another on the front passenger seat and the third who was on the back seat. When the car pulled out the occupants lowered the windows and greeted them and introduced themselves as police officers investigating a crime. The gentle man at the back seat alighted and told them to board the car for further interrogation. The man who had stood adjacent to Mr. Mae complied and entered into the car, Mr. Mae was forced in with minimum resistance. It downed to Mae when he discovered that the man who stood adjacent to him was their accomplice, who acted to dupe him. When they boarded into the salon car the windows were closed. They handcuffed Mr. Mae and ordered him to lie down facing downwards while they ransacked his pockets. They also frisked his hand characteristic hand bag. They were asking Mae question such as, “how much money have you sent to the Mungiki?” “Does your m-pesa account have money?” “How much do your bank accounts have?” Finally, after reaching for Mr. Mae’s phone they forced him to give out his m-pesa pin and then verified it had a zero balance. They managed to take kshs.1120/= in cash, Motorola C113 hand set, two KCB ATMS, one KCB credit card, post bank Bidii student account ATM. They however left him with all the other identification and work documents.
After making some rounds within the Nyali estate, they dropped him along the murram road near the Kenya revenue training institute. He would not immediately establish where he was, as he followed the road, he breath a sigh of relief when he realized that the place was just near the AAR hospital where he is a constant client. Since he had nothing left for him he requested the attendant at the reception of the AAR hospital to assist him call his sibling to come and pick him from there as he was quite shaken.The following day he narrated the story to his staff mates. Mr. Tsuma would not believe it since he claimed that they were waiting for Matatu together and he (Mr. Tsuma), managed to get one and boarded leaving Mae waiting for another one.
KEEP OFF THE KIDNAPPERS CAMPAIGN
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ue to the increase of kidnapping incidents in Kenya and the recently kidnapped of Mr. Mae, and last year’s incident where by a STD 4 pupil named Joy was saved from the jaws of kidnappers by a swift move by a standard six, girl by the name Hawaa, the HGS school Mombasa’s publicity and news desk have started a serious campaign dubbed ‘keep off the kidnapers’. The intention of the move is to equip learners and other stake holders in the school on measures to be put in place to arrest this unbecoming trend.
Acknowledging the fact that it’s hard to completely shun crime, the group headed by Mr. Nyango’ndi has started a series of education sensitization on how to detect possible kidnappers and other ill-motivated people.
The following are some of the guidelines to follow,
- Avoid any stranger trying to engage you in a conversation. For instance when on your way home , if somebody asks you for directions to a given place don’t waste a lot of time giving him/her audience. Adamantly ignore him or her
- Avoid free gifts and incentives such as car lift; don’t ever accept a car lift from a stranger.
- Never accept to be picked by any unauthorized persons from school even a family friend. If one claims that he/she has been sent let him/her get an acknowledgement from the school authority, after consulting with the parent
- Avoid walking alone to and from school. Make sure you are accompanied with other students
- Avoid wasting time waiting for Matatu with music, newly looking or attractive. Use any Matatu with seating space and commute home.
- For adults, if someone or a group of people claim that they are police officers, identify yourself as one of the worker of the organization. That’s why we have the working identification cards. Where you are intimidated to board a vehicle, and if need be attract other bystanders/by passers.
© 2010 News desk HGS Mombasa
