Police in Maragua, Murang'a County are pursuing a gang of about 10 youths specialising in violent sexual attacks and robberies while armed with crude weapons and which started its criminal enterprise on Christmas Eve.
Intelligence reports indicate that the gang is under the command and coordination of a woman notoriously known for brewing chang'aa in Gikindu village. Some Form Three male student from a local secondary school are also said to be members of the gang.
The female gang leader recently had her husband arrested and charged with violent robbery after stolen goods were recovered in their house.
By New Year, the gang was being linked to 12 violent robberies and four sexual attacks and police have since arrested three of the gang members and are pursuing the other seven.
The gang has its bases in Mathare Estate, Gakoigo, Maica Ma Thi, Gikindu and Kamuiru villages and ventures out while riding motorbikes and runs a structured spy network complete with sentries.
"My brother was attacked by the gang as he walked home on Christmas Eve and sustained deep cuts on the head and is admitted to Kenyatta National Hospital in critical condition," said Martin Njai, a resident.
Refuse to record statements
What is troubling is that when police arrest some of the suspects, the victims and eyewitnesses refuse to record statements for fear of reprisal attacks by the gang’s members.
"This has complicated our work a great deal. We are only lucky when during the raids against the gang members we find them in possession of narcotics and illicit brews. We have known violent characters who we have charged with soft crimes," Murang'a South Sub-County Police Commander Alexander Shikondi said.
A recent victim of the gang is Mt Kenya MCAs Caucus Chairman Charles Mwangi, whose rural home was raided at 3am on December 26.
The raiders, who had gained entry into the politician's compound by breaking his main gate and sedating his three dogs, ran away, leaving behind two rolls of bhang and a jerrican of chang'aa.
Before they ran away, they broke the windows of the Ichagaki MCA's Toyota Prado car that was parked in the compound and shouted that they would be back soon.
Mr Mwangi said the gang that raided his home is suspected to be the one that had earlier raided the homestead of a 70-year-old woman in Gikindu village and violently robbed her of Sh81,000 and her mobile phone.
"The gang also robbed the woman's son of his valuables and escaped using a motorcycle. They are believed to have been helped by the woman's daughter-in-law," he said.
Mr Shikondi said the case of the attack on the elderly woman is testimony of the hardships police are facing in engaging the suspects in a structured manner.
"She is yet to record a statement about the incident. Her son too has not done so. We have the intelligence report about the two incidents yet we do not have a complainant. We are [pursuing] the suspects so that we can pin them with other crimes that they might engage in," he said.
Central Regional Commissioner Wilfred Nyagwanga said the turn of events is worrying and will not be given a chance to prevail.
The matter is aggravated by the fact that Maragua Police Station lacks patrol vehicles. According to Mr Shikondi, the station has a mechanically flawed patrol vehicle that keeps stalling.
He said the other vehicle was assigned to the special operation in Laikipia County to flush out bandits and it crashed.
Mr Nyagwanga said efforts to address the mobility and staff challenges in Maragua are being looked into.
"We cannot let that town and its environs degenerate into gang life. So much work has been done in the area by security teams to reclaim it from the rule of gangs. We cannot allow them to win," he said.
He said within the past five months, 56 gang members have been jailed and tens have kept off crime owing to crackdowns.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Edward Mbugua told Nation.Africa that Maragua Police Station officers will be tasked to record crucial statements from complainants out of police stations.
"We have the elderly and the disabled. It is not a must that victims of crime file complaints at police stations," he said, adding that lack of capacity and resources should not be an excuse.
