Gang tortures former minister and wife
Former Cabinet minister Maina Wanjigi and his wife, Wambui, are nursing torture wounds after an appalling robbery on Friday night at their Karen home.
Daring gangsters sauntered into the couple’s Rhino Park home at 9.30 pm, tortured the former Kamukunji MP with a hot iron box, and drove nails into his wife’s toes before stealing two guns, cash, jewellery and other valuables.
The four attackers, who appeared to be in their 20s, subjected the couple — now in their 80s — to a three-hour ordeal and walked away with Sh17,000 in addition to a revolver loaded with six bullets and a pistol.
They first attacked Mr Wanjigi before turning to his wife. One of the gangsters was armed with a gun while the rest had other weapons.
Police and the family on Saturday said the former lawmaker and his wife were admitted to a Nairobi hospital and later discharged in a stable condition.
Nairobi police boss Benson Kibue said they do not know the motive of the attack but were holding one of the domestic workers for questioning.
The couple are parents to prominent Nairobi businessman Jimmy Wanjigi.
The gang of four accessed the house through the kitchen, whose door had been left open. On entry, they went to the bedroom where the couple were preparing to sleep and demanded cash.
At this juncture, the attackers, who were agitated that the couple did not have loads of cash, resorted to beastly acts to force them to produce more money.
“It seems they had misleading information on the couple or they had a different motive,” said a senior police officer who sought anonymity for protocol reasons.
Detectives visited the scene on Friday night and Saturday as part of their investigations.
Mr Wanjigi served as a Member of Parliament for Kamukunji for more than 25 years.
During the period, he also served at various times as minister for Agriculture, Public Works and Tourism.