Oil magnate Ann Njeri Njoroge, the woman embroiled in the controversial Sh17 billion oil shipment, has today shared her harrowing experience after she visited the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters.
During a press briefing held outside the High Court on Tuesday, Njoroge disclosed her harrowing ordeal after they released her in a forest. The item which led to her problems – a 100,000 metric ton oil shipment – was confiscated by customs officials at the Mombasa coastal port, following the filing of permits at the Energy Petroleum and Regulatory Authority (EPRA). Consequently, she turned to Energy CS Davis Chirchir for aid when the situation became dire.
On Monday, Chirchir endorsed Njoroge’s assertions, stating that he advised her to report the incident to the DCI headquarters. Nevertheless, she soon found herself ensnared in a seemingly well-orchestrated kidnapping scheme. She was directed to record her statement in a nearby room, but upon entering she realized it descended into a basement.
The missing businesswoman pleaded with her captors to release her, but her pleas were met with indifference. She narrates that she kept pleading with her abductors to release her, but they dismissed her requests. Owing to the fear of losing her life, she began crying and begging them to spare her life.
After a while, an additional car reportedly pulled up, and Njoroge was subsequently transported elsewhere while blindfolded. She remained restrained within a chamber, her eyes only spared by the balaclava covering her face. Njoroge was aware of the presence of security personnel who were in full uniforms. Inside the four walls of her confinement was a mattress and a CCTV camera.
Njoroge’s conversation with her interviewer reveals that she feared for her life and believed it would be her last day. The subsequent morning, the captors entered her chamber and interrogated her intensely, even threatening to end her life had she not disclosed the details of the cargo. In line with these circumstances, her lawyer Cliff Ombeta asserts that the government must have conspired against the unsuspecting victim. He speculates that those in high power desired their cut of the Sh17 billion oil shipment.
Mwakilishi.com, 14 November 2023
