Relatives and friends of the late Thomas Abwonje Shapaya gather at EMureko village Butere in Kakamega county.
Villagers in Butere, Kakamega County, are living in fear following the emergence of a criminal gang that has killed four people.
Families are now fleeing in fear even after police arrested eight suspected gang members.
The gang, said to comprise young men aged 18 to 30, identifies itself as Jeshi Jinga.
Police, however, say the terror is not the work of an organised group but a collection of illiterate youth.
Two suspected gang members, only identified as Idris and Ojwang, were lynched by a mob recently.
In retaliation, the gang stormed Bukulowe, Shikulusi, Emulambo, Emureko, Ebubala and Emutoma villages, targeting people said to be getting into its way.
The men have maimed several people and killed two brothers, among them, a village elder.
Locals say the gang is swift when carrying out crime. They strike fast and leave before their victims raise alarm.
“They attack, steal and harm residents in less than ten minutes. They move in a group of more than 20 and are armed with pangas and other weapons,” said Isaac Shapaya, a resident of Emureko village where the siblings were murdered on July 28.
“They strike in the early hours of the night, between 8pm and 10pm when families are retiring to bed and before police officers and village security teams start patrols.”
The home of the murdered brothers is less than 500 metres from Emureko police post.
The gang reportedly used the road linking Emulambo shopping centre and Butere town, made a right turn and moved about 100 meters away before switching on torches at Thomas Shapaya’s compound.
The road is notorious for movement of stolen items, including livestock.
The gang passed several homes before getting to Thomas Shapaya’s homestead.
The gang members first broke the door to the house of Thomas Shapaya’s elder son Billy but he was not in the house. They then moved to the main house and broke the door.
“It was around 10.30pm. We heard commotion outside before the door flung open. Flashlights hit our faces as they descended on my husband with pangas,” the victim’s wife, Jane Auma, said.
“I attempted to scream but one of them cut my cheek and left arm.”
Jane Auma, the widow of the late Thomas Abwonje Shapaya who was killed by a gang at EMureko village Butere in Kakamega county.
They dragged the helpless Shapaya out and cut his head.
The gang members then trained their weapons on his elder brother Fredrick Nangoye, a village elder.
Family members watched from their hideouts as the gang cut the elderly man’s head. They then left as quickly as they had appeared.
He succumbed to the injuries while being taken to Butere Sub-County Hospital.
The late Fredrick Nangoe, an EMureko village elder Butere who was murdered by a gang on the night of August 4, 2024, when they invaded his home.
A text message had earlier been sent to the village elder, warning him of dire consequences for what he had reportedly done.
“Mara hii utashangaa. Sisi ni Jeshi Jinga. (You will be surprised this time. We are members of Jeshi Jinga)” read the message that police are using in their investigations.
Daytime attacks
The gang members at times attack at daytime and appear to fear nothing.
A man identified only as Dodo was attacked by some of the gang members in Emulambo at 3pm. He had raised alarm as the gang attacked his neighbour’s home the previous night.
Dodo’s house was razed to the ground by the murderous gang.
Many homesteads in the affected villages are unoccupied after their owners vacated in fear of the killers.
Two families are camping at Butere police station while many others have gone into hiding.
“Many are well-off families. Some are teachers and others are government officials. They are targeted because of buying torches or other gadgets to support the community policing team,” a resident who did not want to be identified said. Despite heightened police patrols, residentsare still nervous.
Many are calling for increased security ahead of the burial of the two brothers scheduled for Saturday.
“Police need to beef up security. There is fear around because not all gang members have been arrested,” a resident said.
Arrests
Butere police chief Julius Kiptoo said among the eight arrested individuals is a man believed to be the leader of the murderous gang.
The key suspect who has been leading the gang identified as Bernard Anganya Omutanyi alias Omusula.
“These are the people who have been mentioned in all crimes reported in Butere and Mumias West. The gang is notorious in cattle theft, house break-ins and other criminal activities. A few of their gang members are still at large,” said Mr Kiptoo.
The police officer said the gang members threatened anyone seen with the police with promises of ‘visiting them’.
He said police have, in the last two weeks, intensified both foot and vehicle patrols in Shinamwenyuli location with focus on Emureko and Emulambo villages.
At least 20 heads of cattle that were stolen have been recovered by the police through the patrols. Mr Kiptoo called on family members who have moved out of their homes to return back assuring them of their security.
