Thieves in Kogony village of Kisumu, come to beat up and kill their victims, and not steal, sending residents into constant fear and anxiety.
They roam the village adjacent to the Kisumu international airport at dusk, wielding batons and pangas, brutalising anyone they meet on their paths, starting with the busy Riat market.
They stab, inflict injuries from batons there and in extreme cases, slash by panga. You are lucky to survive maimed.
Rashid Psama, was killed by the marauding gang this year. He worked as a security guard when the gang attacked him.
Amburo Ngadi is the poster child of the dangerous ragtag group’s brutality. One of his hands got chopped off in one of the raids by the group whose aim is only to inflict injury and maximum pain.
“It is a shame that we live in the same village that hosts an international airport because the insecurity in this area is alarming. These young men roam from 9pm armed with pangas and baton and attack people without provocation,” said Rombo Chanji, an elder in the village.
He went on: “It is better for a robber to take your property, than one who attacks and beats up people, leaving them maimed or on their deathbed.”
Mama Eunice Adero, not her real name, is a victim.
She narrated how last December, on her way home from town, she suddenly got surrounded by young men with batons who started attacking her.
“It was 9pm. I used to sell tomatoes at Uhuru market in town and these young men surrounded me and beat me up senseless, leaving me in a pool of blood, crying for mercy,” she said.
“My screams meant nothing to them, I even tried telling them to take my purse and belongings but let me go unharmed, but they could hear none of it,” she said.
“I lost a tooth, and thank God my eyes survived because one of the hits aimed for my face,” she said.
The 50-year-old mother of four says her treatment and recovery took long and in the process, she lost her business.
“I’m not used to depending on people to support me. I had my business in town, running a successful tomato stall. But it went under.”
On the same night, a young man was a victim of the group but he was not lucky to survive.
He got stabbed at Riat market perhaps because the men perceived that being a young man, he could either muster the courage to fight them off or identify some and report to police.
The attacks in the area are baffling given that a police station is within the airport and a second police post is in Riat market.
In June, Kisumu county commissioner Benson Laparmorijo announced a multi-agency security operation in Kisumu city to tame the run-away crime, following a spate of attacks and cases of muggings which have left scores injured.
He had promised that the operation would smoke out criminals who attack residents making away with mobile phones and other valuables.
Speaking during Madaraka Day celebrations in Kisumu, Leparmorijo said the operation would be extended to Maseno where criminals terrorise and injure university students.
“This campaign also targets Maseno town where we have made some arrests on criminals who terrorise and rape students,” he said.
“We must work and ensure Kisumu is safe. We are not going to remind or plead with anybody to do their work,” he said.
Kisumu County Police Commander Kizito Mutoro had said his teams were on highest alert to turn the crime tide in the area, urging members of the public to volunteer information to the police to make the operation a success.
“Kisumu is the third largest city in Kenya and we cannot afford to hear the kind of stories we are hearing. We must deal with these criminals,” he said.
But months down the line, locals report no much change, as various areas still remain organised gang paradise.
