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How senior government officer was arrested trying to rescue Sh67m gold scam suspect


Details have emerged of how an employee of the Interior Ministry was arrested as he tried to rescue one of the suspects in a Sh67 million gold scam.

Mr Collins Kiprotich Lang’at, a senior officer tasked with protecting VIPs, was nabbed by detectives attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) as he was making calls to secure the release of the suspect identified as Mr Samuel Wathika Gatharu.

Mr Kiprotich’s duties include all that is necessary to prevent an attack of the VIPs. Officers serving in this team usually are assigned to Members of Parliament, Cabinet Secretaries, Senators, Governors and other senior government officials.

According to a detective privy to the case who spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media, Mr Kiprotich apparently followed up the DCI officers who had arrested the suspect.  It was over the weekend when the sleuths investigating the matter also arrested him.

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“We got tired of him and decided to take action because he consistently asked for Mr Wathika’s release yet we have realised that he has more cases to answer,” said the officer.

Mr Gatharu is currently being investigated on further allegations of running an arms business after he was found with more firearms in his possession. At the time of his arrest, Mr Okute was in possession of a Baretta Pistol loaded with 13 rounds.

He was arrested alongside Mr Steve Seth Okute, who was also described as the Director of NewSkys Global Cargo Movers, and Brunoh Otieno Liende alias Oyugi. Mr Okute and Mr Otieno contested the Karachuonyo and Suna East parliamentary seats respectively, during last year’s elections.

Mr Okute was the first to be arrested before the detectives arrested Mr Otieno at his palatial home in Kitusuru, Nairobi County.

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They were nabbed following a report made by the victim, who has been identified as Ms Marjorie Grant, an American-based investor living in Los Angeles, California.

The suspects are believed to have defrauded two American nationals in the gold fraud deal that went wrong.

“Detectives have recovered two firearms and over 470 rounds of ammunition of 9mm and 5.56 mm calibre, after arresting 10 suspects believed to have defrauded $534,000 (Sh67.3 million) from two American citizens,” the DCI said in a statement.

Mr Samuel Waithika Gathuru, Kaisarios Loamms (Greece citizen), Odhiambo Tobias Patrobas, Oketch Moses, Patrick Mugabe, Elisha Mbandi, Teddy Zamora and Siva Sakthi Veru (Indian citizen) were arrested in unmarked offices along Maalim Juma Road within Kilimani area.

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