Residents of Soko Mjinga in Kawangware, Nairobi, have called on the authorities to address what they termed the emergence of a new gang in the area.
The call came after two men were separately attacked by machete-wielding youths near Wema Hospital in the area last weekend.
In the first incident, which occurred at 9pm on Saturday, a construction-site caretaker was slashed several times on the head and left for dead less than 200 metres from the main road leading to Soko Mjinga market. The man was returning to his house from nearby shops, where he had bought meat, kales and other foodstuffs for his supper.
Neighbours who responded to his screams found the man lying in a pool of his own blood, the ingredients of his would-be supper strewn all around him. He was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital where he recuperating yesterday.
In the second incident, a primary school teacher lost his two fingers to what residents suspect to be the same machete-wielding thugs. The teacher’s fingers were chopped off with a machete after when he was waylaid barely 20 metres from where the other attack had taken place seven hours earlier.
The teacher is said to have been returning home from a night vigil. He too was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital.
“No one dared touch the fingers, which were left at the crime scene until the police came on Sunday morning and picked them up as they took the man to the hospital,” a neighbor told the Nation.
Nobody had been arrested by the time we went to press yesterday, a fact that has sent shivers down the spines of the locals.
Chopping off body parts has in the past been associated with organized gangs such as the Sabaot Land Defence Forces (SLDF) in Mt Elgon, Western Kenya, and Mungiki in Nairobi and parts of Mt Kenya region. SLDF chopped off people’s ears while members of the Mungiki sect decapitated their victims to spread terror among their target groups.
It emerged the primary school teacher had been cautioned against using the route on which he was attacked.
“The previous night, he had just done some remedial teaching for a group of pupils who cautioned him against using the road. He, however, told his pupils that the route was fine and safely walked to the venue of the night vigil. He was attacked on his way back in the morning,” one parent said.
The locals pointed the Nation to an open field some 200 metres from Wema Hospital, which is believed to be the hideout of the attackers. Here, Newszetu chanced upon a dozen young men idling around.
“We are living in fear. Just the other day, a resident died after he was attacked with machetes. The police must do something,” a resident who sought anonymity told the Nation.
“These attacks are getting out of hand,” a trader identified as Baba Njoro said.
Kabete Sub-county Police Commander Francis Wahome however refuted claims that there was an organised gang in the area, saying the two incidents had been reported to Kabete Police Station and did not point to the existence of a gang.
“Those were two isolated cases and there is no identified gang in Kawangware. No other such incident has been reported to us and we are working on the reported cases. This is not something that we cannot solve,” he said.
He blamed “alarmists” for spreading rumours on social media that people were moving out of Kawangware en masse in fear of a machete-wielding gang.
“This is very serious misinformation. Such posts may create tension in the area, especially with the country in an election period. I urge those doing so to stop,” he said.
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