Wanted suspects roam free as victims yearn for justice

In the movie “The Departed” (2006), Colin Sullivan, a Massachusetts state police detective, rises through the ranks to head up a special department. Frank Costello is a crime network kingpin who pays Sullivan for information on police raids and secrets and he never faces the law for his evils. 

As in the movie, Kenya is witnessing a series of cat-and-mouse games where wanted suspects roam free as their victims seek elusive justice. Security experts claim some police officers have gone rogue and work with criminals for benefits and favours.

They say the underworld ring of rogue officers and criminals is so ruthless that honest officers who are out to do their jobs fear them. On the other hand, the police service says dealing with criminals is more complicated and dynamic than what Kenyans see.

Jared Otieno: Gold fraudster

On August 9, 2021, Nyeri Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi, when he served in Milimani, Nairobi, criticised the police for failing to arrest fake-gold dealer Jared Otieno, alias Jared Smith Mackenzie Otieno, over an attempt to defraud a foreigner of Sh54.1 million. 

The whereabouts of Mr Otieno are still unknown, in a story where good and evil wear each other’s masks. Issuing his ruling that saw Mr Otieno’s co-accused Kevin Obia, alias Kevin Kleigh, slapped with a Sh300,000 fine with the option of serving one year in jail, the magistrate wondered why the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had failed to arrest Mr Otieno despite overwhelming evidence produced in court. 

The duo are accused of trying to defraud Mr Christian Gallati, an Australian businessman, on May 18, 2015, claiming that they were in a position to sell him 13 kilos of gold in a meeting held at Hilton hotel.

“Jared Otieno is still roaming around town freely because the police have failed to arrest him since 2015 when his case was first filed in court. One wonders whether this is as a result of a conspiracy to defeat justice,” the magistrate said.

The mysterious disappearance of Mr Otieno, who had announced his bid for the Homa Bay County governor’s seat, leaves a series of cases linked to him hanging in court.

For instance, the court is yet to rule in a case where Mr Otieno was charged with conning Mr Sounthorn Chathavong, a director of Simmoug Group of companies, of Sh300 million. In this case, he is accused of claiming that he was in a position to sell him gold.

This led to his arrest and DCI sleuths and officials from the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) seized Mr Otieno’s Porsche worth Sh30 million alongside a custom-made 2018 Bentley worth Sh47 million.

He still has another case in court in which he is charged fraudulently getting Sh23 million from a foreign businessman by pretending that he was in a position to sell him gold. Police sources yesterday told the Nation that, a few days after the ruling by Mr Andayi, Mr Otieno was arrested and detained for some hours. But he was released.

His whereabouts remain unknown, with sources indicating that he is in Dubai.

Merc De Mesel: Wanted Belgian crypto-millionaire

Late last month, ARA detectives told a Nairobi court that Merc De Mesel, who gifted Kenyan women a total of Sh650 million and was suspected of involvement in money laundering, had long since fled Kenya to Tanzania via the Namanga crossing. Detectives had been trailing Mr Mesel since October 2021 but they could not locate him.

“He remains a mystery since we cannot locate him to shed light on the source of his funds. He crossed from Kenya to Tanzania through the Namanga border as a pedestrian. He is a person of interest who we suspect is recruiting young Kenyan girls into an international crime racket.”

In September 2021, Kenyan police raided the millionaire’s home in relation to the suspicious cash he was handing his girlfriends. But moments later, Mr Mesel released a video on YouTube, saying, there was nothing suspicious about the payments.

“When they raided my home, my girlfriend told them that the money was a gift from me, that we are in a relationship and she is pregnant. You don’t have to pay taxes on donations here. We have been living in fear ever since and we are afraid that they will come back,” he said in the video. 

The courts had given the nod for bank accounts linked to the millionaire to be frozen, because the huge amounts of cash wired there were suspicious.

But his lawyers managed to stop the summonses issued by ARA, dismissing them as inappropriate. Late last month, in another video, Mr Mesel claimed that his fortunes had dropped by 80 percent. Mr Mesel never shies from showing off his supercars and sharing photos of himself and his girlfriends on social media.

Simon Kariuki Wangeci, alias Tony: Arrested for selling bhang

In 2019, Simon Kariuki Wangeci was arrested by police officers when they raided his home in Githurai 44 and found sacks of bhang and a huge amount of cash. The officers were shocked when he pointed at the then Kasarani OCPD Peter Kimani and DCIO Mwenda Meme and told them that they would be kicked out of the station and he would go on with his business as usual. Mr Kariuki, who had sold bhang for more than a decade, also assured them that he was well-connected and there was little they could do to stop him.

According to Mr Kimani and Mr Meme, the police decided to raid the home two days earlier than the drug dealer expected after they realised that he had intelligence on their plans. It is not clear whether the suspect was arraigned after his arrest.

The Nation has established that Mr Kariuki is still running his business unperturbed, with high-end vehicles and motorbikes entering his compound and leaving with rolls of bhang.

A local, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said most young people in the area usually buy bhang from him.

“When we heard that he had been arrested, we all celebrated but unfortunately he is still running the business years later,” our source said. The person also said that Mr Kariuki was feared and nobody would dare question him about his business. In early 2019, there was a gun drama outside his compound.

Golden Nyakundi, alias Ras: Killed girlfriend for securing job in Qatar

On July 27, 2021, three days before she could leave Kenya for Qatar, where she had secured a job, Ms Joyce Wanjiru Nyambura, 34, was allegedly killed by her lover, identified as Mr Golden Nyakundi, alias Ras, from Kamuthi in Nairobi County.

Nine months later, Ms Wanjiru’s family is still seeking justice as the suspect, described as a son of a rich man, remains in hiding.

Speaking to the Nation, her mother Ms Cecilia Nyambura wondered why the police have not arrested the suspect though he is well known in Kahawa West.

“When I look at her grave, I shed tears and imagine how things could have turned out for the better if she had not died,” Ms Nyambura said. She said there had been little progress on the case and the family had lost hope of ever getting justice.

Ms Wanjiru and Mr Nyakundi were leading a good life but when she revealed that she had secured a job abroad, he decided to end her life. A post-mortem report revealed that she was stabbed in the abdomen and mouth with a sharp object. She also had bruises on her head, indicating that she was assaulted before being murdered.

Mr Nyakundi allegedly committed the act inside Ms Wanjiru’s sister’s house in Maziwa, Kahawa West, and fled, leaving the woman bleeding profusely. The family reported the matter at the Kahawa West Police Station under OB number 04/27/7/21 at 6pm. Mr Japheth Omutelema, the investigating officer in the case, told the Nation this week that Mr Nyakundi went into hiding and detectives were still looking for him.

“Sometime back, there was word that he had been spotted around Kahawa West and we swung into action, only to find that it was not him,” he said.

This week, the National Police Service said arresting suspected criminals is more complicated and dynamic than Kenyans imagine. Speaking to the Nation, police spokesperson Bruno Shioso said that fraud cases are even more complicated.

“These are smart con artists who plan their crimes well to evade detection and justice. Equally, their victims enable the fraudsters to evade justice by their non-cooperation with law enforcement,” Mr Shioso said.

Most of the suspected criminals, he said, rush to court seeking orders to stop police investigations. When they do get arraigned, they are freed on easy bond terms and get back to the streets to continue committing more crimes.

Security experts George Musamali, director of Executive Protection Service Ltd, and Byron Adera, a Kenya Special Forces ex-officer, said lack of resources in the police service is part of the problem.

He said the police service does not have the capacity to track down suspected criminals like Mr Otieno.

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