This archive report was first published on 27 June 2021.
Hafsa Mohamed Lukman, a 23-year-old businesswoman from Eastleigh, was missing for five days before she was rescued by police on June 20, 2021. In an exclusive interview with Nyakundi Report, Hafsa Lukman revealed that her friend, Hafsa Abdi, was the mastermind behind her kidnap and torture.
According to Hafsa Lukman, she was lured to the kidnappers by Hafsa Abdi, who told her that she had a store in Kayole where she was selling watermelon. However, when they arrived at the store, they found nothing but sawdust scattered all over.
After Hafsa Lukman finished her evening prayers, she was beaten up by two gigantic men who were waiting for her. They covered her mouth with sawdust, tied her hands and feet, and put her into an empty water tank, which they used to transport her to a dingy house in Matopeni.
“My friend was watching all this while,” Hafsa Lukman said, fighting back tears. “She was my friend, though not a very close one, who led me to the kidnapping trap. She asked me to accompany her to Kayole where her other shop is located,” she added.
Surveillance camera recordings at her shoe shop showed that Hafsa Lukman entered the store at 4:44pm on June 15, 2021, accompanied by another woman identified as Hafsa Abdulwahab. Hafsa Abdi is seen making eye contact with an unknown man seated on the waiting bench at the shop when the duo is leaving the premises.
“She told me she had a store in Kayole, where she was selling watermelon but when we got there, there was nothing apart from sawdust scattered all over,” Hafsa Lukman said. “When I finished my prayers, I saw two gigantic men approaching me and immediately they started beating me up,” she added.
Police arrested Hafsa Abdi and Jackson Njogu, another suspect, at a hotel in Kinangop where they were hiding. Hafsa Lukman, who is now recuperating after the ordeal, met Hafsa Abdi in California, where they were neighbors at the workplace where she sells watermelons.
“I trusted her and was always there when she needed me. I just want justice served for what they put me through. I am so happy they have been arrested,” Hafsa Lukman said.
