Axis of evil: Where thugs are so daring and powerful, the police do not scare them

tside the Kayole Police Station. Detectives there trusted him so much they assigned him duties like taking files to courts.

At other times, he would ferry detectives to assignments or deliver food for them. Binje, a dangerous criminal disguised as a boda boda operator, had duped them into believing he was a law abiding citizen.

In April, the officers were stunned when one of the detectives at the station noticed a pistol tucked on his waist. “He was leaving the station when I noticed the pistol. We set an ambush that culminated in a shootout that left Binje dead,” disclosed the officer.

Welcome to Matopeni slum where thugs are so daring and powerful the adjacent Kayole Police Station does not scare them. They kill, rape, infiltrate police operations, trade in guns and drugs as well as fight over control of idle land and a garbage dumping site.

Matopeni slums has now been mapped out as a crime hot stop following a string of systematic murders and violent crimes perpetuated by crime cartels on the prowl.

Not only are the criminals the source of insecurity in the slum, they are linked to a spate of bloody crimes in surrounding neighbourhoods of Ruai, Mihango, Njiru, Saika and Kayole.

Since last year, residents have known no peace – bloodshed and tears are part of life in this part of the city, where criminals reign supreme, and right at the doorsteps of a police station.

Scores of residents have died, and police officers have not been able to prescribe the right dose for the problem of insecurity now synonymous with Matopeni, a fast growing informal settlement sandwiched between Kayole and Njiru.

The latest killing targeted a gang lord believed to have been shot by his own lieutenants in a revenge mission — a deal gone sour.

Joseph Chege Muturi aka Shei and his associate Daniel Kibui Wanjohi were killed on May 27, 2017 by assailants said to be known to them. They engaged the two in a bitter war of words before gunning them down, a short distance away from Chege’s house.

Chege, a former bodyguard of ex-Mungiki boss Maina Njenga, was allegedly killed by members of his own gang notorious for land disputes and running political errands.

The killers lay in wait, confronting Chege as he drove to his house at night. They flagged him to stop, pretending to engage him in a chat before turning against their boss and Kibui.

Police found Chege’s body inside the car while that of Kibui, a close confidant, lay on the road a few metres from the car. Kayole OCPD Joseph Gichangi says detectives are pursuing all possible theories into the fresh killings.

A resident told The Nairobian the gangsters told Chege they were killing him because he had betrayed them. They allegedly took away his gun and a pair of handcuffs.

“People are saying so many things, but we are looking at all angles that might unravel the murders of Chege and Wanjohi,” stated the police chief.

The two deaths add to the crime statistics that have characterised Matopeni slum since January.

Last year, fear gripped the slum following a series of gangland killings. For instance, within a span of four days, two male victims were shot dead in May by gunmen. Both the slain men were targeted at night by motor bike riding assailants.

Bridget Wanjiru was lured to death the same month. She walked out into the dark after receiving a text message on her phone. Wanjiru, 19, promised her mother Esther Mwikali, to return soon. She never came back to their house. Her body was found the following day morning dumped in nappier grass. The body had several wounds inflicted by a blunt object.

Wanjiru’s murder came three days after the macabre killing of an elderly couple whose vital organs were chopped off their naked bodies. Stanley Muiruri and his wife Ruth Mbuthia were killed by a hit squad hired to get land documents from the couple aged 60 and 55 respectively.

Muiruri’s genitals were severed while his wife’s breasts had been removed. The killers also slit open the woman’s womb during the night attack.

In the previous month of April, a 16-year-old boy was murdered after he was allegedly found talking to another man’s lover. Sharrif Omondi was beaten to death at night by men known to him. The killers were allegedly unhappy that the teenage was talking to a woman who was a lover to one of them.

Incidences of violent crimes have persisted and security agents are now mulling over a serious clampdown to flush out the criminals as well as mop out illegal guns believed to be smuggled from North Eastern region.

“Surrender or you will be killed” That was the chilling warning by Njiru Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Patrick Muli during the Madaraka Day celebrations deliberately held in the slum following the insecurity headache.

A senior police officer said a slaughterhouse in the area has also contributed to the problem. He linked the abattoir to the proliferation of firearms used by the criminals. According to the officer, the guns concealed in livestock meant for slaughter are ferried all the way from parts of North Eastern region.

“The guns are smuggled to a dealer or dealers who live in Matopeni. It is also emerging that those who are occupying land illegal land have acquired firearms for the purpose of resisting eviction,” added the officer.

The land the officer referred to allegedly belong to former politician-cum-businessman, the late billionaire Gerishom Kirima. Various self-help groups claiming ownership have encroached on it.

One would be mistaken to believe that Matopeni is one of the safest places in the city thanks to the presence of a fully-fledged police divisional headquarters that is also home to Kayole Police Station. On the tail end of the slum, an abandoned dumpsite that had been turned into a dumping site away from the official Dandora garbage landfill, has also complicated matters.

It was closed last year after residents protested following the discovery of three human bodies. Locals blamed the killings on two armed rival groups that controlled the dumpsite. It is believed deprived of a livelihood, the former dumpsite members engage in criminal activities.

The mapping exercise, according to Muli, established that the slum is a crime hotspot. The administrator said police patrols were being frustrated by unplanned houses, some erected along Kenya Power and Lightening Company (KPLC) leaveway.

Meanwhile, an undercover team of officers with a brief to infiltrate and dismantle the criminal gangs has been accused of extortion, arbitrary arrests and summary execution of suspects.

Matopeni/Spring Valley MCA Abdi Mohamed Guyo claimed the covert squad based at Kayole Police Station was also contributing to the insecurity headache. While distancing himself from accusations that he was shielding thugs, Guyo concurred with the DCC about the sorry state of affairs in his ward.

“They blame me for protecting criminals, yet it is the police who are colluding with thugs. We have five undercover rogue officers operating outside the law,” said the County Assembly Leader of Minority.

He pleaded with the criminals to handover their guns to him in exchange for amnesty.