Tharaka Nithi Deputy Governor Eliud Mate Muriithi was yesterday allegedly robbed of Sh3.5 million at gunpoint by his bodyguard.
In a baffling incident, the bodyguard is alleged to have grabbed the bag containing the cash as Dr Mate disembarked from a car at his Meru home.
The officer, an Administration Police (AP) constable, was attached to Marimanti South AP Camp.
Routine travel
Accounts of detectives investigating the matter indicate Mate and his bodyguard were driven from Kathwana in Tharaka Nithi to Meru town, a distance of more than 80 kilometres.
This is routine travel as the deputy governor commutes daily from his house in Kinoru estate to Kathwana.
On returning home at 10.10am yesterday, the bodyguard disembarked as is his routine to open the door for Mate, who was seated at the front with a rucksack containing Sh3.5 million.
“When he opened the door, he took the bag and the deputy governor instantly confronted him.
“The constable, however, whipped out his official pistol and pointed it at his boss, prompting him to flee into his house for safety,” Imenti North OCPD Sam Kosgey said yesterday.
The guard at the deputy governor’s compound, a civilian, and the driver also fled.
According to Mr Kosgey, the bodyguard then calmly walked through the gate carrying the bag.
A report at the Imenti North Police Station in Meru shows Mate lodged a complaint 20 minutes later.
Property proceeds
He told the report office that the money was proceeds from a property he had sold in Kathwana.
According to Kosgey, the deputy governor did not know how the bodyguard learnt he was carrying money as he had transacted in secret.
From Kathwana to the residence where he lives with his family, Mate had the bag between his legs in the front passenger seat.
The AP, who is in his mid-20s, has been the only bodyguard assigned to the deputy governor for most of his term and is described by colleagues at Kathwana as a reserved and well-behaved gentleman.
A manhunt for the AP by police bosses and Flying Squad agents has been launched.
