By James Omoro
Police have arrested four suspects in Homa Bay town for allegedly kidnapping a five-year-old boy and demanding Sh250,000 ransom from his parents.
The suspects, three women and a man, were arrested at Shauri Yako Estate where they were found with the boy.
It is alleged that one of the suspects went to Rongo town, about 25 kilometres from Homa Bay town where she kidnapped the minor on Friday.
Witnesses said the woman in a car found the minor playing with other children and lured him to board the vehicle.
She told the boy that his father, Joseph Onditi, had bought the vehicle she was driving and she had been sent to take him to a different part of town to see him.
The minor hurriedly entered the vehicle before he was driven to Sofia Estate in Homa Bay town.
A few hours later, the suspects began demanding ransom of Sh250,000 from the boy’s mother, Grace Omolo, through a mobile phone.
In their message, they demanded the money be sent via M-Pesa and threatened to kill the child and dump his body in Lake Victoria.
The mother reported the matter to Rongo Police Station and the officers tracked the suspects.
Homa Bay OCPD Francis Kumut said the boy was found in safe condition while watching TV in one of the suspects’ house. The arrest enabled police to apprehend the accomplices.
“We thought the suspects were armed. My officers searched all corners of the house but did not find any weapons. These might be people who were trying to kidnap for the first time,” Kumut said.
