Over 20 members of Gaza criminal gang surrender to police

Some members of Gaza criminal gang, who surrendered on Monday.

Nairobi, Kenya: More than 20 members of the criminal gang Gaza, surrendered to authorities in a negotiated deal in Njiru area, Nairobi.

No weapon was, however, surrendered as earlier anticipated. The 21 youth surrendered to police at a public meeting Monday denouncing their activities.

Kayole OCPD Ali Nuno and his Buruburu counterpart Richard Kerich received the youth at the event.

They encouraged more of those still hiding to surrender. This was after an administrator there said they were expecting 67 to surrender Tuesday.

“We know there are still many out there and I urge them to come out. Let them denounce crime because it does not pay,” said Nuno.

He also encouraged those without national identification documents to go and obtain them and try to join the National Youth Service for a better life.

Other security chiefs were present at the event at Njiru shopping centre.

The crowd watched in disbelieve as the youth denounced their criminal activities saying they would now be peace ambassadors.

The event will also see them receive amnesty from police, who have been hunting them down, over criminal activities.

Gaza is a criminal armed group that operates in Kayole and has been linked to several murder, robbery, kidnapping and extortion claims.

It has also been linked to many unsolved murder cases and other violent crime incidents.

Most members are aged between 15 and 20 and for the past two years, the Gaza Boys, most of whom are known to be students in local schools, have been roaming the sprawling estate, terrorising residents at will, while in a group of 15.

The group, which was formed and originally operated in Dandora, moved to Kayole following police operations. Many believe it is the new face of Mungiki gang that is now vanquished.

It is known for taking advantage of the innocent children and recruiting school dropouts.

According to insiders, they train the recruits to be rebellious to their parents and teachers and afterwards, they must take a vow.

The new recruits are then used to carry out criminal activities under the watchful guidance of its highly structured chain of command, whose real leaders are unknown, even to some of its members.

Nairobi's Gaza gang borrows its name from Portmore, a small and shanty town in Jamaica that is controlled by a gang with a similar name that steals and kills at will, under the command of Jamaican dancehall artiste, Adjija Palmer Vybez Kartel.  

The artiste is currently facing trial in connection with two murders, illegal possession of firearms and armed robbery.