Four siblings identified a suspect arrested as the man who attacked and left them for near death along Southern bypass in Nairobi.
The identification parade was conducted at the Karen police station a day after the suspect was arrested in an operation.
Such an exercise is key in strengthening the case when it is prosecuted.
Police arrested Martin Otieno, a suspect linked to a string of robberies targeting motorists along Nairobi’s Southern Bypass.
The arrest followed intensified patrols by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Lang’ata, Dagoretti, and the Regional Criminal Investigations Office in response to rising security concerns in the area.
Otieno was apprehended after allegedly attempting to rob a family by placing a large stone on the road, forcing their vehicle to stop.
“The suspect’s strategy involved positioning a massive stone to obstruct traffic, creating the perfect opportunity to launch his assault. While on patrol, officers were alerted by a loud crash,” the DCI said in a statement.
“Rushing to the scene, they discovered that a Volkswagen had collided with the stone as it drove toward Ngong Road. A family inside the vehicle recounted the terrifying ordeal: after hitting the stone, the suspect emerged from a nearby thicket, where he immediately confronted them robbing them of their valuables.”
Patrolling officers, alerted by the sound of the collision, quickly responded. After chasing the suspect into a thicket, they managed to apprehend him.
Otieno was later identified as the robbery suspect behind the incident and the December 27 one where four siblings were attacked and robbed.
Police said he will be arraigned on Monday, January 6, 2025.
Authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring safety along the Southern Bypass and urged motorists to remain vigilant.
One of the victims aged 20 had a cut on his neck, a second one aged 22 was injured in the forehead, neck and left ear and a third one on the left cheek and fractured leg.
A fourth victim had a head injury, police said.
The December 27 incident happened after the suspect set up illegal stones on the road that deflated their car tyres forcing the siblings to step out to attend to the puncture oblivious of the dangers waiting for them.
The elder sister, Prudence Jepng’eno, who was driving sustained a cut on the forehead and a fracture while two of his brothers were cut on the chest and neck, and neck respectively.
The family was travelling from Bomet to Nairobi and on reaching the spot, she lost control of the vehicle after the vehicle in front swerved.
Their vehicle hit a stone and two tyres burst from the impact.
Police and the family said the driver moved the vehicle to the side of the road and as they were removing the luggage from the boot to access the portable tyre inflator, a lone man wielding a panga confronted them.
He cut two of the brothers and they passed out immediately.
He targeted them knowing they could fight back.
The other sister rushed to the car and locked herself inside.
“I pleaded with the robber to pick whatever he wanted since our car boot was open. He broke into the car and picked my bag and a few items before he disappeared,” she said.
The other sister immediately called the father and informed him of the attack.
However, few minutes later, the robber came back and demanded their mobile phones and other valuables.
The family was robbed of two mobile phones, Sh2,000, two laptops, a play station, ATM cards among other items.
The lady then crossed the road and alerted other motorists on the other side to come to their rescue.
As she was busy seeking help, the daring robber surfaced again but by this time other motorists had arrived at the scene and later rushed her and the two brothers to the hospital.
A motorist had rushed to a nearby construction site and informed workers there of the incident. The workers informed police.
By then a Good Samaritan had taken the victims to hospital.
The family was upcountry in Bomet, when one of the girls got sick and the siblings decided to bring her to Nairobi Hospital.
So two brothers, two sisters hit the road, according to the family.
Dad decided to remain behind because the mother of the sons and daughters was unwell too.
After they hit the rocks, at around 7:20pm at Southern bypass they stepped out when were attacked as they tried to use electric pump to inflate their car’s tyres.
Emmanuel and Victor were quickly hit by the panga wielder, aiming for the neck.
They lay sprawled on the kerb. Both had panga cuts on the neck, one lost a piece of the ear.
Then the eldest girl driving, Jepng’eno pleaded with the attacker to take everything including the car.
“But it seems the attacker was just blood-thirsty. He took phones but slashed her, from lip to left ear. The girl who was unwell locked herself in the vehicle, managed to hide her sister’s phone, and called her dad.”
“Jepng’eno dared the devil and ran madly across the deep embankment separating the two sides of the forested road.
A truck driver stopped, and she jumped into his vehicle, part of her cheek hanging.
The driver is the one who graciously helped them,” said a family member at the police station.
According to the victim, the driver couldn’t even communicate well with her as he only spoke Somali.
But he hooted, and tried stopping other motorists.
“Then a bodaboda guy stopped, saw what was happening, and assured them that he was going to bring police and he surely did,” said the victim.
But miraculously, one of the boys woke up and crawled to the car, and since the keys were still in the ignition, he restarted the vehicle and drove slowly. He drove few meters ahead and stopped because the vehicle had two flat tyres.
Then a good Samaritan stopped and got the other injured kid to his vehicle.
Meanwhile, the parents were calling everyone they could reach whilst driving all the way from Bomet.
As they reached somewhere around Mulot, all the kids were being prepared for theatre at the hospital.
The parents arrived at the hospital after midnight.