Detectives drawn from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Saturday rescued an eight-year-old boy who had been reportedly kidnapped by his stepfather.

In a statement, DCI said the boy’s distraught mother Everline Nandera reported the matter of the missing child at Embakasi police station.

She stated that her husband identified as Nemwel Ondari, 32, had left her a note demanding Ksh50,000 which equals ₵5,926.73 as ransom to release the minor.

She reported that the man had also threatened to kill the boy with a knife should the mother delay paying the said ransom.

“Nandera told detectives that she had left their home in Embakasi’s Tel Aviv area at the crack of dawn, headed for Muthurwa market. But upon coming back at around 9:20 am, she found her husband and son missing.

“A note had been left behind by the husband Nemwel Ondari, 32, demanding a ransom of Sh50,000, for the release of the boy.

“In the note, the man also warned his wife that he would kill the boy using a kitchen knife which he had carried, should she try any monkey business,” part of the DCI report read.

A photo collage of Nemwel Ondari, 32, who had kidnapped his 8-year-old stepson with the knife he threatened to use to kill the minor. PHOTO/DCI

After the report, the police embarked on efforts to rescue the minor and a few hours later, the suspect was nabbed at the NMS Green Park matatu terminus off Haile Sellasie Avenue in Nairobi.

“Immediately the woman filled her report at Embakasi police station, detectives from the elite Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) based at DCI Nairobi area were assembled and a manhunt for the suspect was launched.

ALSO READ:

“The detectives assisted by their Embakasi counterparts traced the suspect and arrested him at the NMS Green Park matatu terminus off Haile Sellasie avenue, a few hours later as he eagerly waited for the ransom to be deposited into his Mpesa account,” the DCI states.

A preliminary investigation established that the couple had engaged in a heated disagreement the previous night leading to the incident.