Two suspects behind Hafsa Lukman’s kidnap arrested in Kinangop

Hafsa Abdi and Jackson Njogu were arrested at a hotel in Kinangop. [Courtesy]

Criminal investigators have arrested the two main suspects behind the kidnap and torture of Hafsa Mohamed Lukman.

The 23-year-old Eastleigh businesswoman went missing on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, and rescued by police in Kayole five days later.

Jackson Njogu, 24 and Hafsa Abdi, 21, were arrested at Crystal View Lodge in the chilly Kinangop area where they spent the night.

“This morning was not their lucky day though. They were smoked out of room number 8 at Crystal view lodge,” detectives said.

Police say the two lovers, who masterminded the kidnap of Hafsa Mohamed from her shop, allegedly managed to siphon a total of Sh650,000 from the victim’s bank accounts while she was in captivity.

“After committing the crime, they (Jackson Njogu and Hafsa Abdi) escaped to Kinangop and purchased a bar, where they were operating from,” a tweet by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations read.

The sleuths also revealed that the duo was caught today, at the crack of dawn, by undercover teams from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, backed up by their Special Service Unit counterparts.

Hafsa Mohamed, who lives at California Estate in Nairobi, was found by detectives in a dingy room in Matopeni, Kayole, where she had been forced to stay inside an empty water tank.

Before her disappearance, surveillance camera recordings at her shop showed she entered the store at 4:44pm on Tuesday, June 15 in the company of another woman identified as Hafsa Abdulwahab.

She was later rescued by police officers in a good state although she had been tortured. One of her fingers had also been cut.

The two kidnappers had demanded a ransom of Sh5million to set Hafsa Mohamed free.

However, when the ransom was not paid and the alleged suspects opted to flee.

The two suspects will be arraigned on Monday.