A businesswoman linked to drug trafficking and possession was Monday arrested in a police operation in Nairobi.
This came hours after the suspect, Nancy Indoveria Kigunzu moved to court to stop her imminent arrest.
Nancy who is popularly known as “Mathe Wa Ngara” over her alleged drug deals said investigative agencies have launched a major hunt to unfairly arrest and charge her on trumped-up charges.
She was arrested by detectives who were trailing her for hours.
She was driven to the DCI headquarters for grilling ahead of planned arrangement on Wednesday.
Detectives said she had been hiding since last Tuesday when police raided her den in Ngara.
In documents filed before the Milimani Law Courts, Nancy said she is being used as a ‘scapegoat’
She said she is a law abiding citizen and she does not understand why the police are after her.
Also Read: Mathe wa Ngara Moves to Court, Seeks to Stop Arrest
“I have never committed any crime in Kenya nor have I been involved in any criminal activity in Kenya neither personally not jointly with others and I therefore do not understand why the police are looking to arrest me,” she says in her court papers.
Through Advocate Shanice Maingi, Mathe wa Ngara asked the court to issue orders stopping her arrest and charging before court without the agencies conducting a probe and giving her an opportunity to be heard.
Also sought is an order for anticipatory bail.
She has further accused the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Inspector General of police of using their offices to illegally arrest and detain her two sons for five days without any reason.
The two are minors aged 16 and 17 respectively.
She said she believes the purpose of her sons arrest is aimed at threatening her and subsequently arresting her without following due process.
According to the court papers, Nancy says she became aware of the arrests made in Ngara through the media.
“A few days later it was reported in the media that one of those arrests was of a wrong person, code named ‘Mather wa Ngara’,” she says.
Her sons who were among those arrested and she says they are still being held at Pangani Police Station.
They and two others were expected in court on Monday August 21.
Also Read: Police Want Wanted ‘Mathe wa Ngara’ To Surrender
“Kwa Mathe wa Ngara’ is a known place, and is searchable online, unlike hundreds of other spots called ‘Kwa Mathe’, especially in informal settlements, the Ngara ‘Mathe’ appears to have more power, controls a larger swathe of the population, have more widespread influence.
Five years ago, K24 visited the sprawling ‘Kwa Mathe’ slums, filming men busy rolling marijuana blunts and revealing that, even little school-going boys were her clients.
To the consumers and mules of the narcotics, Nancy is a humble and caring woman who always understands their challenges.
She comes from Vihiga but has set up a base in Ngara that now controls millions, police say.
A team of detectives from the Transitional Organised Crimes Unit backed by those from the Anti-Narcotics Unit and local ones had raided the den owned and run by Nancy but they did not find her.
Instead, they arrested her mules including three teenagers.
Those arrested included 54-year-old Tersia Wanjiru who was said to be the head of the store where the narcotics were kept.
And after police went public about the arrests and recoveries, those who know Nancy swamped social media saying the real “Mathe” had not been arrested.
And true to the public’s concerns, police have revealed they are still looking for the 46-year-old woman.
And like in the movie series Queen of the South, many Kenyans regarded Wanjiru as Teressa Mendza and Nancy as Camila Vargas.
The suspects were found with 26 sacks of bhang, Sh13.4 million in cash, four cartons of Oris containing 200 pieces of cigarettes, one carton containing 200 pieces of High-class cigarettes, 173 packaged sweets and a carton of suspected weed cookies.
The cash was said to have been hidden under a bed.
The three other suspects were Wednesday presented before a court at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where the prosecution successfully asked for more time to hold them.
The court allowed police to detain them until August 21 when the case will be mentioned. The court ordered the Sh13.4 million that was recovered be kept at the Central Bank of Kenya.
The court ordered the suspects be taken for mental tests before they are brought back on Monday.
According to police, Nancy has in the past been arrested and charged with trafficking of narcotics.
She operates in Kariowa B slum within Ngara, Nairobi. Kariowa B is an informal Settlement occupying a road reserve along Kipande Road.
According to police, the area offers the drug dealers and Nancy a conducive operation base since she offers incentives to unemployed youth who provide security and act as watchers/informers in case of any police presence. Nancy is well known among many security agencies in the country and especially in the city.
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