Infamous 'Mathe wa Ngara' arrested

The police arrested Nancy Kigunzu, believed to be the infamous ‘Mathe wa Ngara,’ in Nairobi CBD on Monday evening and later detained her at the DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road, according to various media reports.

She was wanted by the police on suspicion of drug trafficking and being the person behind the Sh13.4 million stash of cash seized in Parklands, Nairobi, mid-this month.

Earlier in the day, Ms Kigunzu had filed a petition before the High Court seeking to be granted anticipatory bail, alleging that the police intend to arrest her as an intimidation tactic.

She blamed her woes on business rivalry.

Through lawyer Danstan Omari, Ms Kigunzu said the police arrested her two sons, who are minors, on Tuesday last week and obtained orders to keep them in custody in violation of their rights.

“That this honourable court be pleased to issue a conservatory order restraining the first and second respondents, their servants, agents or anybody from effecting or arresting, charging or otherwise interfering with the applicant without conducting investigations and according to her an opportunity to be heard,” Mr Omari said.

Ms Kigunzu told the court that she is a businesswoman and only learned of plans to arrest her through social media.

She maintained that she has never committed a crime nor has she been involved in any criminal activities, either personally or jointly, and she does not understand why the police are seeking to arrest her.

“That the petitioner has never been summoned to appear at any police station nor investigative agency in Kenya to aid in any investigations of any nature,” her petition read.

Notorious drug dealer

Her arrest comes after police on Tuesday last week arrested Theresia Wanjiru, alongside three others, and recovered marijuana and other hard drugs along with Sh13.4 million in cash.

Ms Wanjiru, after the arrest, was alleged to be the infamous ‘Mathe wa Ngara’ and her photos were plastered on police social media pages together with the cache of drugs and cash.

Nation recently visited Muthaiga Police Station where Wanjiru had been detained. During the interview with the 54-year-old mother of three, it emerged that she had received a phone call from Ms Kigunzu, whom police have long suspected of being the real mastermind behind the ‘Mathe wa Ngara’ drug operation.

Police had launched a manhunt for Ms Kigunzu, who was listed by the NIS as a notorious drug dealer in 2018.

Ms Kigunzu is said to have compromised officers from various police stations in Nairobi and reportedly evaded arrest until June 2022, when she was last arrested before being released after paying a Sh500, 000 fine.