Detectives in Kirinyaga arrest third suspect in Gatuto headteacher kidnapping
John Kinyua Muriuki, the third suspect in kidnapping of Gatuto Primary school headteacher. Photo/DCI
Detectives in Kirinyaga have arrested a third suspect linked to the kidnapping of Gatuto Primary School headteacher Joshua Kiarai.
The arrest tightens a case that now spans multiple counties and involves a suspected criminal ring.
John Kinyua Muriuki, who had been on the run since November 4, 2025, was flushed out of hiding over the weekend.
His arrest brings to three the number of suspects in custody, with a fourth accomplice still being pursued.
The first two suspects were arraigned before the Gichugu Law Courts on November 25, 2025, where investigators outlined how the headteacher was violently abducted, bundled into a vehicle and held against his will before being abandoned in Kutus.
According to police records and court filings, Kiarai was kidnapped in Kagumo, Kirinyaga County, by a gang travelling in a maroon Toyota Ractis registration KCP 816F.
He was forced into the vehicle, driven around for hours and later dumped at Sahara Petrol Station in Kutus Town.
A Good Samaritan found him in distress and rushed him to Kerugoya Catholic Hospital, where he was admitted and stabilised.
Detectives told the court that forensic analysis, CCTV footage from Kagumo and Kutus, and mobile-phone tracking placed the suspects at the scene of the abduction.
They have also linked one of them — Patrick Gacoki Muembe — to a wider criminal network believed to be behind motor-vehicle thefts, livestock theft, robberies and break-ins across Kirinyaga and neighbouring counties.
Muembe was the first to be arrested on November 10, 2025, after police traced the Ractis used in the kidnapping.
He and a second accomplice were taken to court on November 25, 2025, where prosecutors requested more time to complete investigations and recover additional evidence.
The newly arrested suspect, Kinyua, is currently being processed ahead of arraignment.
Detectives say he played a direct role in the abduction and has been “slipping through the shadows” as the dragnet tightened.
Police are now focusing on the fourth suspect believed to have coordinated movements of the getaway vehicle.
Investigations continue.
