Kasarani MP Ronald Karauri identified as victim in a viral video showing alleged robbery on Nairobi Expressway; DCI says investigation indicates no robbery occurred.
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Police and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have said that Thursday's incident along the Nairobi Expressway did not involve goons robbing motorists.
This is after a video and pictures emerged on social media with claims of a robbery on the Expressway.
The video shows a red car on the Expressway moving at a slow speed as people speak in the video.
One picture showed four vehicles, including the red one, and about four men standing at the passenger doors on the left side.
In another picture, there are three vehicles, with the same men seen leaving a white vehicle and returning to the red one.
These images sparked an online uproar, with fears that there had been a highway robbery.
Police officers based at the command centre station of Moja Expressway, which manages the road and is located near Cabanas on Mombasa Road, said the incident happened shortly after 1:50 p.m. on Thursday.
They said the vehicle, which entered the Expressway at Museum Hill, belonged to a Nairobi politician.
“After a forensic analysis of the footage, we can confirm that it was not robbery, but we suspect it was a Nairobi politician whose supporters were queuing at the vehicle for handouts after an event,” said a police officer who requested anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the media.
He added: “The kind of security we have along the Expressway, with security cameras all over, with Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Kenya Police and Administration Police officers manning it, with controlled entries and exits, cannot have allowed such an incident to happen.”
Journalist Kennedy Mureithi, who witnessed the incident, said:
“I am in one of the WhatsApp groups where the image was shared and told, ‘This is your car.’ Since I saw the trending images and I have a larger following on Facebook, I took it and shared it on my page so that police can see it and address it,” said Mureithi.
Later in the day, Kasarani MP Ronald Karauri emerged, dismissing the goons-robbing-motorists narrative.
In a video posted on his social media accounts, he admitted the vehicle was his and that he was inside it.
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“I have seen a video trending on social media about goons robbing motorists on the Expressway. I am actually the one who was on the Expressway in a white car on the passenger side. I just wanted to calm everyone down that these are not goons,” said Karauri.
He added: “They are people I was coming with from a meeting, fellow Nairobians, and my door could not close. Apparently, in that particular car, as long as you’re moving, you cannot close the doors, and I was in a bit of distress, so I actually had to stop right there on the Expressway. When they saw me stop, they came to help me and managed to proceed on.”
The DCI also clarified in the afternoon that the incident was not a robbery.
“Detectives from DCI Kilimani are investigating a video circulating on social media purporting to show motorists being robbed along the Nairobi Expressway. The persons depicted in the clip, including the alleged victim, have been identified, summoned and their statements recorded,” said the DCI in a statement on X.
It added: “Preliminary investigations, based on the recorded statements, indicate that the incident was not a robbery. The alleged victim has been identified as Hon. Ronald Karauri, Member of Parliament for Kasarani.”
The DCI said further inquiries to establish the full circumstances surrounding the event and the circulation of the video, and to document all relevant facts, remain ongoing.
