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Mwinjoyo FM presenters speak out gangsters storm radio station

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Robert Kiarie and Esther Wanjiru at Kiuguone Police Station, Nakuru. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Mwinjoyo FM presenters and their guests have broken their silence on the Thursday midnight raid at the radio station by suspected thugs in Kiamaina, Nakuru.

Robert Kiarie and Esther Wanjiru had been invited to the Mugithi Night show, which runs from 8pm to midnight when the attackers stormed the radio station when they were on air.

Mr Kiarie, who is captured in a video that has since gone viral, said he was wishing listeners well as the show came to a close when the suspects stormed in.

"Suddenly the door behind me opened and a man who had covered his face entered brandishing a gun. I thought he was a police officer and I stopped speaking," he said.

He narrated that three other men ordered everyone to lie down, and directed the presenter of the show to switch off everything.

Shocked by the turn of events Kiarie remained standing before one of the four attackers kicked him on the waist, forcing him down to the ground.

"I was scared, shocked and shaking and I thought I would be dead because the men kept threatening to kill us as the Al-Shabaab do," he said.

Ms Wanjiru said she could not believe that robbers can raid a religious radio station while it was live on air and on Facebook.

"I have never experienced anything like that in my life. The robbers were rough, threatening and looked dangerous. They ordered me to lie down or lose my head," she said.

Mwangi wa Mbugua, one of the presenters, said the men cut the electric fence and scaled the wall to gain access to the premises.

He believes that the suspects hid behind a tank in the compound and struck once someone walked out of the studio.

"We were eight and the armed men made their way into the studio by threatening to kill whoever blocks them," he said.

Mr Mbugua said he was in his office when the suspects walked in and ordered him to lead them to the studio before he was asked to lie down.

The robbery lasted for 30 minutes and the suspects walked away with their mobile phones, money and bags.

Mbugua said the robbers moved to the waiting rooms and searched their jackets and bags for valuables.

"They then realised the show was live on Facebook and there were CCTV cameras in the station," he said.

Dancun Njuguna, the manager of the station said the robbers forced him to show them to the CCTV room, where they vandalized the camera.

In a video that has gone viral, the thugs are heard saying 'zima hiyo kitu. Zima haraka.' (Switch that thing off. Switch it off quickly).

One of the suspects is seen kicking someone on the ground while asking him what he was doing, "Nini unafanya wewe?"

Njuguna revealed that one person was attacked after he was spotted trying to pick up his mobile phone from the ground.

He said they reported the matter to Kiugoine Police Station and submitted the CCTV equipment.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations said the thugs made away with eight mobile phones, over Sh35,000 in cash and eight pairs of shoes.

"Five cameras were also damaged by the thugs before they escaped by jumping over the establishment's perimeter wall," said detectives.

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