On Monday, around 11.30pm, Joseph Gachuiya, who is a bodaboda operator in Nakuru’s Kiratina area, was at work when two motorbikes ferrying three people passed by him.
He was unbothered at the moment as motorbikes are a common sight in the area with many young men like him engaged in the transport business.
However, after riding for 100 meters the riders made a U-turn and came back to where Gachuiya, 36, had packed his motorbike, and demanded he hand over his phone threatening to harm him if he failed to cooperate.
The Kiratina Sacco chairman, who was alone at the time of the incident, refused to comply.
Furiously, the three men pushed him down and he fell into a ditch.
Joseph Gachuiya speaks to journalists from his hospital bed at the Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Photo credit: Bonface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
Recounting the painful ordeal that has left him admitted at the Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital, Gachuiya said that he tried wrestling two of the men who had pinned him to the ground while the third kept watch.
After getting impatient with him, one of the men slashed him with a panga on the shoulder, while the other one stabbed his back before they escaped with their motorbikes.
“When they left, I noted that I was bleeding heavily and something was still on my back. They did not manage to steal my phone. I called one of my friends who rushed to the scene and took me to the Nakuru level five hospital for treatment,” he narrated.
At the hospital, doctors conducted first aid on him and he was admitted awaiting an operation to remove the knife lodged in his back.
“I was told to wait for eight hours till the next morning as there was another patient with stab wounds in the theatre. For now, I am okay, I would like to tell other bodaboda riders to be careful. The criminals are back, it is no longer safe for us,” he said.
The hospital’s deputy Medical Superintendent in charge of clinical services Dr Michael Sitima said that they received the patient at the facility at 1am with two injuries; a stab wound to the chest and a cut on the shoulder.
The stab wound was from the back into the chest cavity. After conducting a preliminary investigation the patient was stabilized to make sure that he was out of danger and was admitted to the ward immediately as they were planning on other ways of how to remove the knife.
A doctor at the Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital displays the knife that extracted from Joseph Gachuiya's back.
Photo credit: Bonface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
According to Dr Satima, Gachuiya was stabbed with a knife about 12 inches long, which was left in the chest. He was wheeled to the theatre in the morning.
“It was necessary as we stabilized the patient to ensure that the knife can safely be removed. The patient is currently out of danger, he was taken to the theatre by our specialist who managed to safely retrieve the knife in an operation that took one and a half hours," said Dr Satima.
"The patient had bled into the chest cavity about half a litre of blood which was safely drained. He has been sent back to the ward where he is recuperating. We expect him to make a full recovery in the next time to three days and then be fit to be discharged," Dr Satima further explained.
He revealed that the facility, being a referral facility, receives an average of one stab wound case a day.
“We always advise that in the event you are stabbed, it is not advisable to remove the object. You should keep the object there until you seek a professional opinion. That is why even a professional has to investigate before removing a foreign object to ensure patient safety,” he added.
Residents of Nakuru are now raising concerns over the return of organized criminal gangs claiming that they are terrorizing them during the night and in broad daylight.
According to them Rhonda, Kaptembwo, and Pondamali are among areas that have been largely affected by the surge in criminal attacks over the past weeks.
On Monday, elders from the affected areas held a meeting in which they called on security agencies in Nakuru to enhance security operations to flush out the criminal gangs.
Their chairman Mr Peter Kinyanjui, regretted that people are being robbed even during the day with robbers making away with their valuables and leaving their victims with injuries.
He said that the incidents are on the rise as the suspects are released on lenient bond, bail, and fine when they are taken to court with many incidents going unreported as the gangs instill fear in their victims.
Mr Kinyanjui called on Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof Kithure Kindiki to reshuffle changes among junior officers in the area to achieve an effective crackdown on the gangs.
He revealed that some of the officers inform criminals on planned operations and where it will be done making it hard for them to be arrested.
“If gang members are arrested or beaten up by a mob, their colleagues are always on the lookout and identify those involved in the plans and will later take revenge. We call upon officers to intensify patrols for peace to be restored,” he said.
Ms Bilha Ngonyo, a trader, said that there is a need for the deployment of additional officers to conduct patrols at all times to flush out the criminals.
She said that incidents of break-ins into businesses and robberies while open have been rampant in the area, forcing trades to close their shops in fear of attacks.
The elders called on the government to come up with employment opportunities to gainfully engage the youth as a way of withdrawing them from the world of crime.
Following Gachuiya’s incident, there was a retaliatory attack by a mob. Two youths suspected to be members of the gang that attacked him were beaten and burnt by an angry mob in the Dafra area.
Nakuru County police boss Samuel Ndanyi, at a press brief on Tuesday, said that they conducted operations where they arrested 16 suspects in Rhonda area.
According to the county boss, the suspects were found in possession of crude weapons, toy pistols, knives, and bhang.
"The operation will go on, as there has been an allegation that the gangs have returned. We thank the public for volunteering information to the officer. We have moved with speed that's why we have arrested them; we want people living in Nakuru county to be safe and can go about their businesses as usual," he said.
