A 22-year student from Kamunda Secondary School in Awendo was arrested for faking his own abduction and demanding a ransom Ksh20,000 from his mother.
The form four student was frogmarched to a police station in Awendo by his mother after admitting that he stage managed the abduction.
Claiming to have been kidnapped on Friday, January 5, by unidentified individuals, he sent numerous text messages to his mother demanding Ksh20,000 which he claimed would go towards his school fees.
The boy’s mother filed a missing persons report on Friday, January 6, after her son failed to return home on Thursday, January 5.
“Shortly after wishing his mother good night at 9:00 pm and leaving for his room, he made a sharp distress call.”
“When his mother rushed to his house, she only found a blood-soaked vest,” Awendo police boss Mathias Pombo stated.
However, the student came back home on Monday, January 9, in bloody clothes, after his mother failed to send the demanded ransom.
The student confessed to smearing cow's blood on himself and making sharp distressed screams before running away from his home.
He admitted to the police that he purchased the blood from a local meat shop and sprinkled it on his clothing in an effort to appear as though his kidnappers had roughed him up.
The 22-year-old then spent two nights in an incomplete building and a night at his friend’s house on Sunday, January 8, before making a decision to go back home.
Claims of using the money for school fees were dismissed by the student’s mother, clarifying that he did not have any outstanding fee balance.
He confessed that his friend advised him to stage his abduction to get money from his mother.
Speaking on the matter, Awendo Sub-County Police Commander stated that “investigations into the matter are ongoing and disciplinary action would be taken.”
Earlier on Sunday, January 8, two high school students were arrested in Eldoret South as suspects in Edwin Chiloba's murder probe.
On January 9, 2021,Meru county, police officers arrested a form three student Saturday, for faking his kidnapping to extort money from his parents.
