BUNGOMA, Kenya — DCI detectives in Bungoma County have launched an intensive investigation after an accountant was allegedly trailed from a bank, abducted alongside a boda boda rider, and robbed of KSh600,000 in broad daylight.
The daring highway ambush occurred on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at approximately 12:30 PM in the Sikusi area along the busy Bungoma–Chwele Road.
Trailed from the Banking Hall
According to police briefs, the victim—a district accountant based in Sirisia sub-county—had just withdrawn the cash from a commercial bank in Bungoma Town. He secured a ride on a boda boda to commute back to his station. However, shortly into the journey, both the accountant and the motorcycle rider noticed a suspicious vehicle aggressively shadowing them from the town center.
Before they could seek safety, five men intercepted the motorcycle in the Sikusi area. At least one of the assailants was armed with a handgun. The gunmen forced both the accountant and the rider into their vehicle at gunpoint, speeding off into a network of rural murram roads toward an unknown destination.
Dumped in a Maize Plantation
Once inside the vehicle, the gang stripped the victims of their valuables. The accountant lost:
- The KSh600,000 cash withdrawal
- His national identity card
- The bank withdrawal slip
- A Tecno Spark 8 smartphone
The boda boda rider was stripped of KSh390 and an M10 mobile phone. In a minor stroke of luck, the hijackers left his TVS Star motorcycle abandoned at the initial scene of the crime.
After the robbery, the five suspects drove the victims to the Kimilili area, where they dumped them inside a dense maize plantation. The shaken victims managed to trek out of the fields and made their way to Kimilili Police Station to lodge a formal complaint. Officers immediately dispatched a team to the crime scene, successfully recovering the abandoned motorcycle.
Inside Job Suspected
Senior investigators handling the docket suspect that the criminals operated on a highly precise tip-off. Detectives believe the gang had prior, insider information regarding the exact timing and volume of the accountant’s transaction.
A special wing of the DCI has since visited the targeted commercial bank in Bungoma Town. They are reviewing the building’s internal and external CCTV footage to identify any individuals who were spotter-monitoring transactions from within the banking hall before signaling the getaway car.
Police have issued a public safety warning to local business owners, noting that these targeted banking hall syndicates—historically prevalent in Nairobi and Machakos—are increasingly spreading their networks into western regional urban centers.
