This archive report was first published on 22 May 2020.
On May 22, 2020, a Kenyan man's life took a dramatic turn when detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) picked him up from his business premises in Busia.
According to the man, who uses the Twitter handle @derrick_dre, the detectives accused him of murder and took him to his house, where they searched for a gun.
He was then taken to Busia police station, where he met two other men who were allegedly his partners in crime.
The group was later ferried to Awasi sugar plantations in a convoy of seven DCI vehicles, with guns cocked and pointed at them.
The man recalled the scariest day of his life, saying: 'Scariest day of my life. After telling them we were unaware of what they were saying, a laptop which was pulled from my shop, and a phone that was taken from my 'partners in crime' were fished out and the cops demanded we explain where we got the items from.'
He explained that the laptop was given to him by his immediate neighbour, a Kenya Prisons officer, who was financially pressed and needed quick cash.
The man's ordeal continued as he was taken to Ukwala Police station and thrown into the cells.
He was later picked to give the details of the prison officer, but unfortunately, he was unaware that the officer had been transferred to Naivasha GK.
DCI officers from the Naivasha branch then raided the officer's house and found a pistol dismantled and hidden in a diaper wrapping.
The man and his co-accused were released 10 days later after testifying in court, but not before learning that the prison officer was being charged with six counts of murder.
He recalled: 'The laptop and phone were stolen and the owner killed. Sisi na ujinga wetu we never thought of that. Anyway, you live you learn.'
