News broke last week that police had gunned down three suspected kidnappers in Gathuku village, Murang’a County. The suspects were two middle-aged men and an 80-year-old woman.
County Police Commander Mohammed Farah on Thursday said the three had kidnapped a woman and demanded Sh5 million ransom.
“After knowing they been cornered, they opened fire leading to a shoot out but they were overpowered,” he said. Ms Margaret Waithira was kidnapped on July 13 and was being held at one of the suspect’s home.
It has now been revealed that the 80- year old woman was Wambui Muturi. During the day, Wambui was a devout Catholic and an unassuming granny.
But at night, the grandmother ran a kidnapping ring that had terrorized Mt Kenya residents and whose tentacles, police believe, extended to Nairobi.She was gunned down alongside her accomplices; Mr John Mwangi and Mr Samuel Kang’ethe.
Ms Margaret Waithira, the woman who was kidnapped said she was kidnapped at Kiria village while on her way home after dropping her brother in Nyeri County.
She said the two men blocked her car and when she got out in protest they assaulted her.”After coming out of my vehicle they roughed me up and slapped me asking whether I had some money. But when I told them I had some money in the bank, they gave me water from a bottle and I fainted thereafter,” she said.”That day was the worst day of my life.”
Mr Kang’ethe was the elderly woman’s nephew. Ms Margaret Waithera had been held for six days when police stormed the compound and killed the three.
“The cucu (granny) was the one cooking for me. She also threatened to have me circumcised,” Ms Waithera told a local newspaper. Chatting with neighbors and administrators reveals an old woman with a complicated personality.
Crime runs in Ms Muturi’s family.
According to Gatundu chief John Wachira, two of the woman’s sons died at the hands of lynch mobs while another was shot dead by police officers in Nairobi. Another died after a short illness, leaving behind two daughters. Ms Muturi’s husband died years ago. Mr Wachira said the killing of her sons changed the granny completely.
“She became reclusive,” the administrator told reporters.
Mr John Mwangi, a Gatundu resident, said the granny did not get along with villagers.“She did everything in secret. In fact, some people thought she was a witch,” Mr Mwangi said.
Ms Waithera said the old woman would prepare dry rice or boiled maize and tea for breakfast. “She would threaten to circumcise me or cut off my hands if I did not cooperate with the kidnappers,” Ms Waithera said.
Murang’a County police boss Mohammed Farah said signals from the kidnappers’ mobile phones helped track them. Mrs Muturi’s daughter, Margaret Wanjiru, said she did not know her mother was a criminal.
“I call on well-wishers to assist the family bury her. Despite the circumstances, she was still a mother and needs a proper sendoff,” she said.
Cases of female gangsters in Kenya have been on the rise in recent times. Last year, police gunned down Kenya’s hottest gangster, Claire Mwaniki in Kayole. Clare was also from Murang’a County, could they be related with Wambui?
Before adopting her gun life, Clare used to live with her grandparents in the semi-arid Kambirwa area when she dropped out of school in form one at Gikindu Secondary school. Njoki later moved to her mother’s house in Kayole, Nairobi where she is likely to have met bad company which lured her to crime.