Nairobi — Former Mwea MP Peter Gitau is among five suspects arrested in connection with the theft of two Isuzu lorries in Murang'a County in August.
Detectives from the Operation Support Unit (OSU) of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) confirmed the recovery of the vehicles.
"The vehicles in question, an Isuzu FVZ with registration number KDQ 845T and an Isuzu FRR with registration number KDL 078W, were taken in a brazen theft in Gatanga on August 16, 2025," the DCI said Sunday night.
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Following the theft, investigators launched a probe that led to the arrest of Peter Gitau, Mark Kinyua, Erick Chege, David Kigo, and Joseph Ndung'u Waweru, identified as the masterminds behind the heist.
"Upon interrogation, the suspects led detectives to Mombasa County, where the lorries were recovered in Makupa," the DCI confirmed.
The DCI revealed that the stolen vehicles had been fitted with counterfeit registration plates in an attempt to evade law enforcement.
"The Isuzu FVZ (KDQ 845T) had been fitted with a fake plate, KDV 449C, while the Isuzu FRR (KDL 078W) carried a counterfeit KCA 505D," the agency noted.
The recovered lorries are now safely in the hands of DCI Gatanga, and plans are underway to return them to their rightful owners.
"With the lorries now recovered, we aim to restore hope and justice to those affected by this crime," the DCI said.
The arrest comments weeks after a court freed the former lawmaker in a similar case.
Freed on bail
On January 21, a Murang'a court released Gitau and his four co-suspects after dismissing a police application seeking to detain them for an additional 21 days to complete investigations.
Senior Resident Magistrate Eric Analo granted Gitau a Sh500,000 cash bail or an alternative bond of Sh1 million with a similar surety, while the four other suspects were released on the same terms.
The magistrate ruled that continued detention without formal charges would violate the suspects' constitutional rights.
The prosecution had argued that more time was required to conclude investigations into the theft of a motor vehicle reported stolen in Murang'a on November 4, 2025, but the court noted that none of the suspects had been formally charged.
Gitau's lawyers, led by Robert Ndumbi, opposed the application, saying their client was arrested on January 14 but arraigned several days later, beyond the constitutionally required 24-hour period.
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"They first took him to the DCI headquarters in Nairobi before transferring him to Murang'a police station," Ndumbi said.
Another defense lawyer, John Njogu, said the prosecution had failed to justify why the suspects should be held indefinitely under the guise of investigations.
"The mystery is why he is being associated with a case involving a vehicle allegedly stolen months earlier, and yet no charges have been brought," Lead defense counsel Ndumbi added.
The magistrate directed police to conclude investigations and only prefer charges once ready, emphasizing that the matter was a miscellaneous application for extended detention and not a substantive criminal case.
Gitau's lawyer vowed to file a suit at the High Court against police officers for breaking into Gitau's home, conducting the arrest in an inhumane manner, and unlawfully detaining him.
Gitau was first elected Mwea MP in 2007 on a PNU ticket and was re-elected in 2013 under the TNA party.
