How police busted notorious Nairobi kidnap gang leader
By ZADOCK ANGIRA
Police on Wednesday arrested a Sudanese said to be behind kidnappings and robberies targeting foreign business people.
Detectives said Mr Haisam Ahmed Elmkashfi and his gang kidnapped a Sudanese businessman in Eastleigh, Nairobi last month and took him to an apartment in Kilimani, Nairobi.
Kilimani police boss Peter Katam said during the kidnapping, Mr Elmakasfi presented himself as an Interpol officer and had a staff card and a UK driving licence.
He said the documents, a firearm and handcuffs were found with the man.
The businessman was under guard of two men for 17 days. He called his family to tell them to pay the ransom demanded. They paid a Sh500,000 to the kidnappers.
PAYMENT OF RANSOM
The matter was reported to the police who tracked the call to the apartment. Two men — Ahmed Ismail and Mohammed Elmutasim — were arrested and the businessman freed.
According to the police, Mr Elmkashfi had rented a furnished apartment where his victims were kept.
There are reports that the gang kidnapped another Sudanese businessman who left the country immediately he was freed after payment of ransom.
Victims say gang members could be security officers since they were armed and had handcuffs.
“The gang appears to have a wide network and could be working with people from the victims’ countries and some Kenyans,” Mr Kattam said.
A senior Sudanese embassy official who visited the police station said the gang was also wanted by Khartoum authorities.
KIDNAPPED
Meanwhile, a businesswoman who was kidnapped but later rescued by police officers has pleaded with the mastermind of the crime to spare her family.
Ms Bibian Atieno Okumu went to Nairobi on Monday to meet a man who promised to take her to a factory where she could buy iron sheets.
“He is known to me as he had once wanted to be a driver in my company,” Ms Okumu told the Nation at Pangani Police Station.
The man, with four others, later kidnapped her and demanded money. They gave her an account number but threatened to kill her and her family if he revealed his identity.
Her daughter deposited Sh400,000 in the account but two of the criminals was arrested when he went to withdraw the amount at Co-operative Bank.
Detectives located the woman’s phone signals to Lucky Summer. They raided the house and shot four kidnappers dead. They also found a pistol and five rounds in the house.