No retreat, no surrender in war on Murang’a gangs

“They are well known in Maragua town. After defiling me, he burnt my private parts with a hot machete. He said he was punishing me for resisting his advances and biting him as I struggled to free myself,” she said.

The girl was just about to sit her Kenya Certificate of Primary Examination when it happened.

“She is a strong girl. After the ordeal, she was taken in by a children’s home in Kenol town where she was treated. She sat her exams and scored 246 marks. This is how devastating some experiences can be since she was a 400-mark student,” Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organisation (MYWO) chairperson in Murang’a, Lucy Nyambura, said.

Daring gang 

MYWO piled pressure on law enforcement officers to crush the gang, which has about six members. Like a sport, the most daring member wins Sh1, 000 raised by the group if he defiles a nominated girl.

“The competition leads to kidnapping and defilement. As a result, many school girls end up being defiled and due to the fear of the gang, such cases go unreported,” a detective told the Nation.

MYWO pressure forced the police to take action and the crackdown began on May 2 when a 9.30pm distress call was received at Maragua Police Station. The caller said two panga-wielding male youths had been spotted kidnapping two school girls.

Officers led by station commander Cleophas Juma rushed to the area and encountered the suspects dragging the girls into the bush.

They challenged them to surrender but one charged towards the officers with his panga.

“The officers opened fire and the suspect was shot in the abdomen. He tried to flee but fell a few metres ahead. He was rushed to Maragua Level Four Hospital and later transferred to Murang’a Level Five Hospital for specialised care,” said Murang’a South police boss Anthony Keter.

In the melee, the other suspect escaped. One of the girls had sustained a panga cut on the left hand and was rushed to hospital where she was treated and discharged.

The arrested man died on Monday and was identified as David Irungu. Three days later, his accomplice, Macharia Ngure, was arrested and arraigned.

“This is just a mild testimony that we will not be entertaining the rampant cases of sexual offences in Maragua town and its environs. There are several cases of raw sexual violence against minors by panga-wielding criminals. Their days are numbered. We will use lethal force if need be to tame them,” said Murang’a South Deputy County Commissioner Mawira Mungania.

Most wanted list

However, Ms Nyambura urged the police to handle such social misfits well, without using excessive force.

“There were no grounds for kidnapping and defilement. He is said to have cut one girl with a panga and that is just a case of assault,” said the local Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss David Cheruiyot.

Mr Keter, however, demanded the situational report from Mr Juma, which stated that the deceased was on the police’s most wanted list for allegedly being a member of the dreaded Jeshi ya Gaica gang.

“He was also being sought for injuring and threatening the life of an assistant chief. We had three warrants of arrest on him. He was a typical criminal who posed a threat to the society,” states the report.

Mr Mungania supported the shooting, saying: “In all fairness, all evaluation of the situation starting from the initial encounter between the officers and the suspects, it is clear there was great restraint and the force that was used was controlled.”

As the local police bosses tussled, an anonymous letter was penned to Central Regional Commissioner, Mr Wilfred Nyagwanga, reporting Mr Cheruiyot’s action.

“It’s widely accepted on the ground that the character the police shot was a thug. No question about that. It’s corroborated by witnesses that indeed this character had attempted to attack officers with a machete. Those who believe in progressive police actions to secure the society had no quarrel with the police and the way they acted. It is only one person who appeared to think otherwise,” the letter read.

The letter adds that “this is the kind of DCI interference that instils fear among some of our officers to a point they start going easy on criminals”, citing the DCI boss as “a liability to the fight against crime in the area”.

“In Ichagaki location where this incident occurred, residents rate the government highly. To work in a way that seeks to lower that government’s rating in the area leaves one wondering who or what he is working for,” the letter reads.

Mr Nyagwanga said the letter was being evaluated.

Protect our girls

The 2011 National Police Service Act, under the Sixth Schedule, spells out that an officer shall always attempt to use non-violent means first before resorting to use of force in effecting an arrest.

It guides that firearms may only be used when less extreme means are inadequate and for the purposes of saving or protecting the life of the officer or other person and in self-defence or in defence of other person against imminent threat of life or serious injury.

Other instances are in protection of life and property through justifiable use of force; preventing a person charged with a felony from escaping lawful custody; and preventing a person who attempts to rescue or rescues a person charged with a felony from escaping lawful custody.

Mr Mungania insisted that the officers involved acted above board since there was a victim who was about to be hacked to death. He warned that officers “won’t hesitate to use lethal force to protect our girls from such cruelty”.

He also urged the society not to be passive onlookers when “such filth is being executed against girls”.

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