James Mwangi, an ETR machines dealer, had withdrawn Sh684,000 from a bank along Kimathi Street. He then went to a shop on Tom Mboya Street and deposited some of the cash.
After leaving the shop, Mwangi was accosted by an armed gang of three men near the MKU Towers along Moi Avenue.
“Some minutes to the incident around 12 pm, I had checked into the bank along Kimathi Street to withdraw Sh684,000,” Mwangi narrated.
He continued: “I took Sh228,000 to a shop at Beba Beba business centre and after depositing, I made my way back with Sh400,000 in an envelope. At the corridor around MKU Towers, I was attacked by three people from behind.”
The men hit him on the nose and wrestled him to the ground after he initially refused to give up the cash. He surrendered it after one of the men brandished a homemade gun.
“I suspect they followed me from the shop where I deposited the first amount or could have been aware that I was from the bank. I remained with only Sh66,000 in my pocket, but they did not harm me,” said the businessman.
Confirming the incident, Central Police Station boss Adamson Bungei said officers on patrol noticed the commotion around Moi Lane.
They approached the scene and the thugs threw the money in the air in a bid to create confusion and escape.
“One of them was armed and he attempted to engage our officers but they were swift enough to neutralise him. At the time two of the suspects managed to escape after the one who had the money splashed them in the air to confuse the public,” Bungei said.
The officers recovered Sh107,000, a mobile phone, and the gun. At the station, the suspects’ phone was ringing from a contact saved as ‘Darling’ suspected to be his wife.
Police believe the muggers are part of a new gang operating in the Nairobi CBD known as Tsunami.
“They used to operate in some areas and use hand signals when pursuing a target. We are on their case because they have been captured on CCTV in town. They will not hide for long,” an undercover officer said.
