The Directorate of Criminal Investigations' (DCI) Anti-Abduction Unit has taken over investigations into the disappearance of Mlolongo businessman James (Jimmie) Mwanzia Mutava.

This is after CCTV footage placed him in the company of two police officers moments before he was allegedly abducted by armed masked men.

The footage reviewed by the Daily Nation and corroborated by his wife Margret Mutuku, places Mutava in the company of two police officers shortly before he was allegedly abducted.

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According to Ms Mutuku, on the evening of Monday, July 27, Mutava was at their Daystar home when he received a call from a senior police officer attached to Mlolongo Police Station, asking him to meet at an entertainment joint in Mlolongo town.

His uncle David Muli said he accompanied Mutava to the venue, where the businessman met the officer before he left.

“He was with me and the children when he received the call from the officer. Lately, he had been keeping a low profile after telling me he was receiving threats from people, although he never disclosed who they were,” Ms Mutuku said on Tuesday.

CCTV footage from the entertainment joint shows Mutava seated at a round table, taking drinks with the senior police officer before they were joined by a woman who has since been identified as a police officer attached to Mlolongo Police Station.

Around 9pm, Mutava is seen stepping outside while talking on his phone. Moments later, four masked men emerge, bundle him into a double-cab pickup and speed away. Two of the men were armed with firearms.

James Mutava — Ms Margret Mutuku displays a photo of her missing husband Jimmy Mwanzia Mutava in Athi River town on July 28, 2026.

Photo credit: Stanley Ngotho | Nation Media Group

An eyewitness told the Daily Nation that the men identified themselves as police officers carrying out an operation.

“They said they were police officers on duty. We saw Jimmy being taken away as he shouted for help,” the witness said on condition of anonymity.

The CCTV footage also appears to contradict an earlier account reportedly given to the family by the senior police officer, who had claimed he was in the washroom when Mutava was abducted.

Instead, the footage shows the officer calmly seated inside the entertainment joint and talking on his phone as the abduction unfolded outside. He only left after the commotion had subsided. The female officer also left shortly afterwards.

The same CCTV footage captured the double-cab pickup parked near the entertainment joint before the abduction, suggesting the operation may have been coordinated and premeditated.

Investigators have since established that Mutava's mobile phone signal was last traced along Kamiti Road, off Kiambu Road.

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Mr Paul Ndunda, a close friend of Mutava from Mlolongo Phase Four, believes the senior police officer may hold crucial information.

“The senior officer is a person of interest. He summoned Jimmy to the meeting, then claimed he was in the washroom when the abduction happened, yet the CCTV footage tells a different story,” Mr Ndunda said.

Mr Ndunda further claimed that Mutava, together with other residents, had previously written to Police Headquarters complaining about alleged harassment of civilians and arbitrary arrests by local police officers.

The Daily Nation has established that the senior police officer and the female officer captured on CCTV with Mutava are among four people being investigated by the DCI Anti-Abduction Unit.

The unit has appealed to members of the public to volunteer any information that could assist investigators, assuring them that they will be kept informed of developments in the case.

Meanwhile, Mutava's family is demanding swift investigations to establish what happened to the father of four.

“We want Jimmy, alive or dead,” Ms Mutuku said.

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