Uber driver rescued from carjack attempt by heroic officers

Victor Adika, a robbery suspect, has been arraigned at the Makadara Law Courts on charges of attempted robbery with violence. He is accused of trying to rob Kenneth Mbitiru of his car, valued at Sh700,000, while armed with a knife.

On October 16, 2023, Mbitiru received a request from a customer who wanted to be picked up at the Kosovo area and taken to Ruiru. When Mbitiru arrived at the pickup location, a hooded man emerged from the darkness and approached him with a knife and a hammer. Two other men soon arrived, and the three thugs tried to break into Mbitiru’s car using a hammer.

Mbitiru raised an alarm, and two police officers from Mathare police station who were on patrol responded. The officers ordered the three men to surrender, but they fled. The officers fired at the suspects, killing one of them. The other two suspects escaped deep into the slums.

The slain suspect was a known criminal who was on the police radar. Adika, who was known to the two police officers, was identified as one of the three men who had tried to rob Mbitiru. He was later traced and arrested.

Adika denied the charges in court and was remanded in custody until November 13, when the court will receive his pre-bail report. The hearing of the case is set to start on April 22, 2024.