Two Brand-New Cars Stolen on Mombasa Road in Shocking Highway Robberies
Police are investigating two alarming incidents along the Mombasa Highway in which drivers transporting new vehicles to Uganda were violently robbed by passengers they had picked up en route.
According to authorities, both drivers had accepted passengers in exchange for money before falling victim to carefully orchestrated hijackings. The vehicles—one of them a brand-new Subaru Forester—have not yet been recovered.
The first robbery occurred on May 15 near Kyumbi township, Machakos County. The driver reported that he had picked up three men who claimed to be traveling to Nairobi. As the car approached the dual carriageway, the men turned against him, strangled him, and tied him up before dumping him in a nearby bush and fleeing with the car.
In the second incident, another driver delivering a new vehicle to Uganda told police he had picked up four passengers between Kibwezi and Voi. As the vehicle reached the Lukenya area, one of the passengers requested a stop under the pretense of needing to relieve himself.
Suddenly, four more men emerged from the bushes, joining the hijackers in overpowering the driver. They tied him up, took his mobile phone and belongings, and sped off toward Nairobi. The driver was later rescued by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials on patrol.
Interestingly, one of the initial passengers reportedly jumped out of the vehicle as it made a U-turn back toward Mombasa. It remains unclear whether he was an innocent passenger or part of the gang.
Police say such cases are on the rise, with up to two similar robberies reported weekly along this busy transit route to Uganda. Most of the stolen vehicles are rarely recovered.
Authorities are now warning drivers—especially those ferrying new or valuable vehicles—to avoid picking up strangers along the highway, even for a fee.
As investigations continue, police urge the public to report any suspicious activity and help curb the wave of highway carjackings threatening security along Mombasa Road.
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Two Brand-New Cars Stolen on Mombasa Road in Shocking Highway Robberies