Missing city businessman Dafton Waitiki is alleged to have lived a double life that he had hidden from the public for a long time.
A report by The Standard on Saturday, March 21, indicates that Mwitiki, who went missing on March 11, has been connected to two high-profile kidnapping cases in Nairobi.
According to the publication, the first case involved the kidnapping of a Chinese national on February 27, 2020, after which the kidnappers demanded a Ksh100 million ransom to have him freed.
The kidnapping incident caught the attention of DCI detectives who stormed the house where the Chinese national was being held and resulted in the death of the four suspects, amongst them administration police officers (APs).
According to a police confidant quoted by the publication, investigations into the kidnapping incident established that the mobile phone line used in demanding ransom was registered in Mwitiki’s name.
“The callers were using what looked like a sophisticated phone which even the DCI investigators could not trace. It is at this point that the NIS came into the probe and helped unravel the behind-the-scene actors,” the officer was quoted.
The Standard further reported that Mwitiki was also caught up in another case where a university student was abducted and Ksh100 million demanded to secure his release.
The incident, which was reported at Kilimani Police Station on January 13, was later dropped after the family allegedly negotiated with the kidnappers and paid Ksh4 million to have their child released.
During the incident, a sim card registered in Mwitiki’s name is also alleged to have been used.
However, according to Mwitiki’s brother, Victor, he was not a criminal and lived a simple and honest life.
Mwitiki is a celebrated marksman – a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons at longer-than-usual ranges – who represented Kenya in the 2019 International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) Southern Nationals Shooting Competition in South Africa.
He became known to many Kenyans during the Dusit D2 terror attack on January 15, 2019, after he was pictured at the scene alongside city politician Steve Mbogo.
Mwitiki, who manages a tour and travel company based in Nairobi, is also a prominent and active member of the National Gun Owners Association (NGOA).