The criminal gang’s boldness has grown, with some incidents occurring as early as 2pm.
On October 11, 2025, Hillary Ochieng Minudi was stabbed and later succumbed to his injuries at Garissa County Referral Hospital while undergoing treatment.
He was a tutor at Garissa Teachers Training College and was riding a motorcycle when he was accosted by three youths armed with knives, also on a motorcycle.
They blocked his way within the Bula Mzuri estate in Garissa town, and stabbed him in the altercation that ensued, leaving him for dead.
Good Samaritans rushed Ochieng to the hospital, where he later died. A month down the line, police investigating the matter do not have an answer for the grieving family in South Nyanza about who killed their kin.
Within the same period, several people have reported being violently robbed of their belongings by youths riding on motorcycles in the town.
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“We are living dangerously. In a twinkling of an eye, a motorcycle will stop before you and you will be ordered to surrender all your valuables. I lost my phone and some cash to this group of youths,” Ms Angelah Mwende, a resident of Garissa town, said.
An aerial view of a section of Garissa town.
Just like Mwende, Jared Mbithi, a boda boda operator, says he found himself in the hands of the criminals, a situation he says he will never forget.
“I had just dropped a customer off along Ngamia Road when another motorcycle with three people stopped in front of me. Two passengers brandished knives, ordering me to surrender all the cash. I had no option but to give my daily earnings of Sh3,600,” he said.
He says the gang terrorising locals comprises youngsters residing in the town.
In an area not known for petty crime, residents say it was shocking that teenage criminals have been allowed to terrorise them.
Gang networks
The Nation has since learnt that apart from coordinating their operations on WhatsApp groups, the gang members meet in some fitness centres within the town to plan their activities.
“These are very young boys below 20 years, causing insecurity in this town. Reporting the matter to the police is a waste of time because nothing will happen,” he said.
He added, “Even if you reported the case and proceeded to identify the suspect, they will walk free in a day and come to confront you”.
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Mr Mohamed Mwabuzdo, the Garissa County Commissioner, said investigations into the murder of Ochieng have been challenged by the lack of witnesses.
“We are yet to get a single witness in this matter to help our investigators crack the case. We are dealing with a closed society that is never willing to participate in a matter that does not affect them,” Mr Mwabudzo said.
According to the Garissa County Security and Intelligence Committee Chairman, investigators are following several theories, including a love triangle, but no suspect has been arrested.
“We appeal to members of the public to open up and be sincere and honest in how they handle matters of security,” he said.
The criminal gang’s boldness has grown, with some incidents occurring as early as 2pm.
Police laxity
A local chief accused the police of laxity in dealing with insecurity in Garissa town.
“The problem is that police are reluctant and even collaborating with these gangs. I have personally arrested several youths and taken them to the police station and immediately we finished recording statements, the suspects were released and later they even threatened me,” the chief said, requesting anonymity.
Locals have since identified the gang terrorizing them as members of Squad Chafu, a local teen gang headquartered at Vision 2030 area within Bula Iftin on the outskirts of Garissa town.
'Gang scattered'
The County Commissioner admitted being aware of the wave of criminal activities but said the gang has since been wiped out.
“The gang members scattered in different places after we launched an operation to deal with them. They all ran away immediately when they realized we had mapped them. Their gang leader has since relocated from Garissa,” Mr Mwabudzo said.
A detective familiar with the gang’s operations admitted that there are failures in the security operations in Garissa town.
“This gang is so organised that they run several WhatsApp groups where some security officers are members. These groups are used to raise funds whenever a member is arrested to pay for his release from police custody,” our security source said.
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He claimed that each residential estate in the town has a group but all the collections go to the de-facto leader, who then remits the money to the police.
“Garissa Town Police Station is a money market place. The corruption in this station is on a different level,” our source said.
“Police officers are human beings and anything is possible with them. We have had a history of rogue police officers all over the country and not just here in Garissa. We shall be investigating allegations of dalliance between the officers and the gang and deal with individual officers as per our findings,” Mr Mwabudzo, the county commissioner, said.
At the station, the police are still struggling to identify the exact scene of the crime in Ochieng’s murder.
“We don't know the exact place where the crime happened. Residents of Mbula Mzuri point at Iftin and vice versa,” a senior security officer at Garissa Township Police Station said.
In an attempt to clean the mess at the station, Mr Samuel Boit, then Garissa Township sub-County Police Commander (SCPC), was transferred in July following a public outcry.
Mr Kenedy Ong’ombe, the Officer Commanding Garissa Township Police Station, was also transferred to Baragoi last month.
“Transferring the senior officers is not helping the situation at all. The business community around is so fast to incorporate any officer into the system and lawlessness continues,” our security source revealed.
On September 25, 2025, three teenagers aged between 14 and 16 were arrested after a widely circulated video on social media showing scenes of chaos and aggression during the September 18 robbery at a shopping mall in Garissa town.
The three robbed a Madarasa teacher of his money while armed with a machete.
Interestingly, their case collapsed under unclear circumstances, creating a blame game between the police and the ODPP.
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