The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has unmasked the main suspect in the Wangari Maathai/Forest Road assault and stripping of a female motorist of Friday, March 4.
In a statement released on Tuesday night, March 8, DCI identified the man believed to have masterminded the whole incident. The investigative agency says that his identification was made possible by scientific analysis conducted by the detectives placing him at the scene of the crime.
Following the positive identification, the suspect was then traced to Mukuru Kaiyaba, one of Nairobi's biggest informal settlements.
The suspect, however, managed to beat a dragnet laid by officers from the DCI working hand-in-hand with their colleagues from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB).
"Using digital forensics, the sleuths working with cybercrime experts at the DCI National Forensic Laboratory, placed the thug at the scene of the crime scientifically and went after him this afternoon deep in Mukuru Kayaba informal settlements,” the DCI statement read in part.
The government agency further noted that his positive identification was corroborated by his wife and relatives who have since been roped into the case to assist the police locate him.
Following his escape, the multi-agency working on the matter issued an ultimatum to him and his accomplices to surrender to the nearest police station.
"It is only a matter of time before we arrest him. The DCI is cautioning him not to engage detectives in cat and mouse games but to surrender at DCI headquarters or the nearest police station within 24 hours," DCI stated.
"His accomplices who were within the vicinity of the barbaric attack whether captured on the video clip or not, have all been identified scientifically and are ordered to submit themselves to DCI headquarters before detectives catch up with them."
According to the video which caused an uproar, the female motorist could be heard screaming as a group of men believed to be boda boda riders attacked her.
Following the incident, President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered a nationwide crackdown on rogue boda boda operators starting with the country's capital, Nairobi.
He noted that all riders will be registered afresh and ordered multi-agency teams to swiftly act and restore sanity in the sector.
"A boda boda is not a licence to strip a woman and remove her dignity. There should never be a repeat of what happened on Friday," the President stated.
"We want to support the boda boda business but our efforts should not make them believe that they can do drive-by shootings. We will re-register all boda bodas. Those who want to politicise this let them go ahead and do that," he added.
So far, over 200 riders have been apprehended and charged during the operation which kicked off from Monday, March 7.
