{"id":130331,"date":"2026-02-09T06:02:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T06:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/former-mwea-mp-among-5-arrested-as-dci-recovers-stolen-muranga-lorries\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T06:02:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T06:02:58","slug":"former-mwea-mp-among-5-arrested-as-dci-recovers-stolen-muranga-lorries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/former-mwea-mp-among-5-arrested-as-dci-recovers-stolen-muranga-lorries\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Mwea MP among 5 arrested as DCI recovers stolen Murang\u2019a lorries"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 9 \u2014 Former Mwea MP Peter Gitau is among five suspects arrested in connection with the theft of two Isuzu lorries in Murang\u2019a County in August.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Detectives from the Operation Support Unit (OSU) of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) confirmed the recovery of the vehicles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vehicles in question, an Isuzu FVZ with registration number KDQ 845T and an Isuzu FRR with registration number KDL 078W, were taken in a brazen theft in Gatanga on August 16, 2025,\u201d the DCI said Sunday night.<\/p>\n

Following the theft, investigators launched a probe that led to the arrest of Peter Gitau, Mark Kinyua, Erick Chege, David Kigo, and Joseph Ndung\u2019u Waweru, identified as the masterminds behind the heist.<\/p>\n

\u201cUpon interrogation, the suspects led detectives to Mombasa County, where the lorries were recovered in Makupa,\u201d the DCI confirmed.<\/p>\n

The DCI revealed that the stolen vehicles had been fitted with counterfeit registration plates in an attempt to evade law enforcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Isuzu FVZ (KDQ 845T) had been fitted with a fake plate, KDV 449C, while the Isuzu FRR (KDL 078W) carried a counterfeit KCA 505D,\u201d the agency noted.<\/p>\n

The recovered lorries are now safely in the hands of DCI Gatanga, and plans are underway to return them to their rightful owners.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the lorries now recovered, we aim to restore hope and justice to those affected by this crime,\u201d the DCI said.<\/p>\n

The arrest comments weeks after a court freed the former lawmaker in a similar case.<\/p>\n

Freed on bail <\/h2>\n

On January 21, a Murang\u2019a court released Gitau and his four co-suspects after dismissing a police application seeking to detain them for an additional 21 days to complete investigations.<\/p>\n

Senior Resident Magistrate Eric Analo granted Gitau a Sh500,000 cash bail or an alternative bond of Sh1 million with a similar surety, while the four other suspects were released on the same terms.<\/p>\n

The magistrate ruled that continued detention without formal charges would violate the suspects\u2019 constitutional rights.<\/p>\n

The prosecution had argued that more time was required to conclude investigations into the theft of a motor vehicle reported stolen in Murang\u2019a on November 4, 2025, but the court noted that none of the suspects had been formally charged.<\/p>\n

Gitau\u2019s lawyers, led by Robert Ndumbi, opposed the application, saying their client was arrested on January 14 but arraigned several days later, beyond the constitutionally required 24-hour period.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey first took him to the DCI headquarters in Nairobi before transferring him to Murang\u2019a police station,\u201d Ndumbi said.<\/p>\n

Another defense lawyer, John Njogu, said the prosecution had failed to justify why the suspects should be held indefinitely under the guise of investigations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mystery is why he is being associated with a case involving a vehicle allegedly stolen months earlier, and yet no charges have been brought,\u201d Lead defense counsel Ndumbi added.<\/p>\n

The magistrate directed police to conclude investigations and only prefer charges once ready, emphasizing that the matter was a miscellaneous application for extended detention and not a substantive criminal case.<\/p>\n

Gitau\u2019s lawyer vowed to file a suit at the High Court against police officers for breaking into Gitau\u2019s home, conducting the arrest in an inhumane manner, and unlawfully detaining him.<\/p>\n

Gitau was first elected Mwea MP in 2007 on a PNU ticket and was re-elected in 2013 under the TNA party.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 9 \u2014 Former Mwea MP Peter Gitau is among five suspects arrested in connection with the theft of two Isuzu lorries in Murang\u2019a County in August. Detectives from the Operation Support Unit (OSU) of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) confirmed the recovery of the vehicles. \u201cThe vehicles in question, an Isuzu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130331\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}