A pastor in Nyeri County thought he had left his past life in crime behind and would begin his life in Christ, however, one final heist with his former accomplices changed his life instantly.
Speaking to Itugi TV, Apostle Hiram Ndung'u revealed how a moment to relive his former self led to a brutal experience at the hands of a mob.
Ndung'u explained that at the time of the incident, he had previously served two years for robbery-related incidents and was seeking to rebuild his career.
He noted that he settled down and married his partner with whom they sired one child.
Thinking he had left his life in the past, he would receive calls from a former accomplice who sought him to get back to his roots, something which he was not too comfortable with.
However, his perspective shifted following a chance to relive his past glory.
"Three days after meeting with my accomplice, I was at my house with my wife, and I saw a huge motorcade of cars going in one direction. My wife told me that a dowry ceremony was happening at a certain homestead in the neighbourhood," Ndung'u explained.
"So her husband had not finished paying the dowry by the time he passed and it is custom for the dowry to be cleared before the woman gets married again."
The apostle explained that he called his ally to inform him of the event's details, including the location.
"I directed him to where the homestead and he arrived with three armed friends to carry out the heist. I did not want to take part but unfortunately, none of them could drive. I became the getaway driver," he pointed out.
"Inside the homestead, we managed to take Ksh120,000 cash and other goods such as ornaments, and priced items. We tried to hijack one of the cars in the homestead but it didn't work, so we escaped on foot and stumbled upon another car on the way."
Following the heist, the crew arrived in Nyeri town, split the loot, and left in different directions. At the time, Ndung'u suspected something was off.
"When I went home, I found AP officers and other residents awaiting his arrival. They sought to search me and my homestead. In my pockets, I had around Ksh17,000 cash. I defended the amount saying it was mine and gave it to my wife. The police ranted and sought to know the source of the amount," he remarked.
"They told me that they would take me to the scene of the crime. They suspected that I was part of the crew that carried out the plot because of my past (a former prison convict)."
Moments after they arrived at the homestead, they found hundreds of residents baying for his blood. The officers demanded the apostle to reveal his accomplices' names to which he declined.
Noticing that Ndung'u was not heeding their orders, the officers left him at the hands of the mob which beat him to a bloody pulp.
"My wife and my child witnessed as I was cuffed and beaten by the residents. All bloodied up, I pleaded with them to make a deal to reveal the rest of the names in exchange for my freedom. I spoke to one of the men who had leadership tendencies. He calmed the mob down and they listened to me."
"I mentioned their names and was subsequently taken to the OCS who ordered that I should be locked up. After a month or so, my accomplices were arrested in another crime and upon investigation, one of their phones was implicated in my case. So they were charged with both crimes."
After staying for two years in remand, the apostle noted that he was given the death sentence. Years later, he appealed the judgment and his case was thrown out by the judge, who pardoned him.
