Four children narrated harrowing experiences of how they managed to escape a 16 hour kidnapping ordeal in Gatuanyaga area, Kiambu County.
According to media reports, the children aged between seven and eleven years were allegedly abducted while playing outside their home at around 2pm on Sunday evening, January 2.
However, a black double cabin vehicle pulled up and four individuals, three men and a woman, walked out of the car. One of the children narrated how they were coerced and later sprayed with a sleep chemical and bundled into the car.
When the two boys and two girls regained their consciousness, they found themselves in a small dark room with their limbs tied up.
Fearing that the kidnappers might harm them, the eldest child began plotting a way out. Surveying the room, she noticed a window that had been covered with a piece of iron sheet nailed to it.
This prompted the child to act swiftly and kick the window off and aid the rest to escape.
“I managed to kick it off, woke the other children and we ran away. It was a terrifying 16 hour experience,” she told the media.
The four ran and were ultimately found by parents who were on the lookout for the missing children.
Before the sleep chemical overwhelmed them, the children revealed that they took a good look at the kidnappers' faces,
"There were three tall men and the fourth one is a short lady. The lady had short hair," one of the victims stated.
Area Deputy Sub county police commander Muthee Nyaga cautioned parents to be extra vigilant about their children's safety.
“Investigations are underway and everyone responsible will be put to justice. We condemn the incident and call on parents to be responsible about their children’s safety while at home,” he stated.
Some of the residents also decried the worrying state of security in the area- pointing to a rise in the number of kidnappings.
“This has turned into a death zone. We appeal to the police to heighten security because we live in fear,” one resident stated.
