THE PRIME suspects in the murder of a Scots businessman were nicked a year ago for abducting and blackmailing a church pastor, we can reveal.
Bernard Mbunga Mbusu, Samuel Musembi Kamitu, and Alphonse Munyao Kilewa were accused of stripping a preacher naked in the terrifying attack last year.
Murdered Scots businessman Campbell Scott, with partner Simon FarrarFacebook
DCIKenyan cops probing Campbell’s death have issued their first public appeal as they try to track down three men they claim were involved[/caption]
DCIIt’s emerged the trio were arrested last year for kidnapping a pastor[/caption]
DCIThe three suspects were arrested last February and set to appear in court[/caption]
Now Kenyan cops claim the trio have gone on the run after killing Campbell Scott, whose body was found dumped in a forest.
Baffled locals fired questions at detectives on social media after the latest twist in the bizarre murder probe.
Evans Okaalo said: “Aren’t these the same people you handled last February?”
While Ty Trae added: “How did they end up back on the streets? Are we arresting criminals only to set them free to commit worse crimes?”
Last February the Directorate of Criminal investigations said Mbusu, Kamitu and Kilewa pounced on the pastor as he walked to a restaurant in Nairobi.
It was claimed they kidnapped him and ripped his clothes off, before threatening to embarrass him by releasing the snaps online.
Detectives revealed the gang managed to extort 55,000 Kenyan shillings from him, about £330.
In a statement a DCI official said: “The three men accosted him and bundled him in a waiting saloon car.
“Once in the car, the man of the cloth reported he was stripped naked and photos of him taken before he was forced to reveal his pin or the photos would be uploaded on his social media platforms.
“Complying under duress, Sh55,000 was transferred to one of the suspect’s phones and thereafter he was released.”
PACampbell Scott’s body was found in the woods in Kenya[/caption]
Cops revealed they raided three addresses and recovered the money as well as the pastor’s mobile phone.
Mbusu, Kamitu and Kilewa were arrested and set to appear in court, but it’s unclear what happened to them after that.
Now they feature in the first public appeal made by cops in the Campbell Scott investigation.
Officers have used the same snaps as when the trio were detained last year.
An official in the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said: “The suspects are linked to the brutal murder of 58-year-old Briton, Campbell Scott.
“Following the heinous crime and subsequent dumping of his body, the trio fled and have since gone into hiding.”
Campbell flew into Nairobi for a work conference before he vanished.
His body was found almost a week later dumped in a secluded forest about 60 miles away. His hands and legs were bound with rope.
It was feared he had been tortured but an autopsy didn’t find any evidence of that and couldn’t work out how he died.
Insiders claimed he may not have been murdered and might have died after taking a “performance enhancing drug”.
Two suspects were arrested over the weekend and accused of stealing £12,000 from his bank accounts.
A magistrate agreed to lock them up for three weeks.
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