Kileleshwa house help vanishes with gun, 40 bullets, over Sh350,000 in daring heist

Detectives in Nairobi are on the trail of a house help who allegedly vanished with a gun, bullets, cash, jewellery, and crucial documents from her employer’s home in Kileleshwa.

According to police reports, the suspect is believed to have taken off with a portable safe that was hidden inside her employer’s bedroom wardrobe.

The safe contained a Glock pistol with two magazines, 40 rounds of ammunition, Sh 292,000 (USD 1,950), Sh 84,000 (€600), assorted jewellery valued at KSh 5,000, land title deeds, and several electronic gadgets.

Investigations indicate that the employer, who is a licensed firearm holder, had left the house with his family for a short errand, leaving the domestic worker behind to attend to her daily chores. When they returned, the safe had vanished.

Security camera footage reportedly showed the woman sneaking out of the house carrying the safe hidden inside a carton box, with the guard on duty assuming she had been sent out on an errand and didn’t raise any alarm.

Confirming the incident, Nairobi Police Commander George Seda said officers are working around the clock to trace the suspect and recover the firearm before it lands in the wrong hands.

The incident adds to a growing list of thefts by domestic workers in Nairobi’s upscale estates. In a similar case in Runda, a house help identified as Violet Ndukwe Lijodi was accused of stealing a diamond ring worth KSh 683,000 from an Australian-based nurse visiting Kenya.

Violet later sold the ring to Francis Mwima in Kawangware for just KSh 4,000.

Both suspects were arrested and charged. Violet pleaded guilty, while Mwima was released on a cash bail of KSh 500,000.

Under Section 322 of Kenya’s Penal Code (Cap 63), anyone found guilty of handling stolen property faces up to 14 years in prison with hard labour.