Exchanging gun for the bible

By Michael Oriedo

He is a fortunate man who miraculously escaped death several times while living on the wrong side of the law.

Gazing at his past, Steve Gachuhi is certain that he would have suffered the same fate as his accomplices — death by the police bullets.

"I am the only member of our gang who evaded the claws of death," he says.

He says he joined crime at 16 after dropping out of school. "I quit school at Standard Three in 1985. We were a family of eight and my parents could not take care of us," he says.

Then living in Korogocho slums, Steve with other boys began collecting and selling scrap metal at Dandora dumpsite.

"I was the youngest member. My work was mainly to prepare food," he recounts.

He realised that the boys had a part time job, crime. "They were mugging people and breaking into houses," he recalls. After sometime, they trusted him and began using him to ferry stolen items.

Genesis of crime

One day, Steve says, a gang member invited him to his rented house. "He had furnished his room well and was living comfortably. I admired his lifestyle," he recalls.

From that moment he fell in love with crime.

He pleaded with his friend to help him. He offered him a gun and bullets. "Though it was faulty, I knew it was my bridge to a better life," says the 35-year-old man.

He remembers how he staged his first robbery at a market in the area. "I ordered the merchants to lie flat. When they hesitated, I shot in the air to scare them. I then picked tins where they had kept their money and stuffed them in a paper bag," he recalls.

From that robbery, he got Sh30,300 a hefty amount for a first job. "I had never counted such a huge amount of money in my life," he says. That money gave him morale to soldier on. "We formed a gang and began terrorising people in Buruburu, Dandora and Kariobangi estates in Nairobi," he reveals.

Later, the group relocated to the Central Business District and began targeting businesses where they were certain to get more money. One day, they got wind that a trader along Haile Selasie Avenue was carrying Sh800,000.

Steve with his accomplices attacked the man and grabbed the money but the confrontation attracted Flying Squad officers on patrol.

The officers killed two of the gangsters. However, Steve and others managed to escape.

"It was a nasty experience. I ran and disappeared into Marikiti market," he recalls. "But I never got a cent of the money. My friends short-changed me. They travelled to Mombasa and squandered the loot."

The turning point

Unbowed, he was at it again months later. They planned to snatch Sh1.5million from a tycoon at a hotel in Nairobi.

That day, he arrived at Uhuru Park, their meeting point ready for the job. But little did he know that that would be his turning point.

"I found a crusade at the park and joined to pass time before my team arrived from Githurai. While sitting on the terraces, I heard the preacher announce that there was a dangerous robber in their midst and he must surrender," recalls Steve. Minutes later, the preacher, Rev Teresia Wairimu, called his name and warned that if he did not step forward, he would die that day.

"I was petrified," he reminisces. "I had never met the preacher in my life and how she got my name still baffles me."

Steve surrendered and walked to the dais. She took his gun and prayed for him to renounce crime. Later at her offices, she called the police to pick the gun.

That evening in 2002, he learned through the media that police had killed all his friends in the robbery. "I am certain that if I had not joined the crusade, I would be dead by now," he says.

Steve, together with his wife Mary Gachuhi, who was also an accomplice, then joined Faith Evangelistic Ministry.

"My wife was also a criminal. She had helped me transport guns for a robbery mission, hide stolen items and lure people to our dens before robbing them," says Steve.

In 2005, he opened a branch of the church in Babadogo Estate. "I wanted to serve people in the slums, specifically to reform criminals and commercial sex workers," he says.

Later in 2006, the couple founded Faith Rescue Network (FRN), an organisation that provides skills and food to former criminals, street children, sex workers and drug addicts.

"We discovered preaching alone did not meet the needs of slum residents. They needed economic empowerment. We bought sewing machines and offered training in tailoring," he says.

To date, Gachuhi says over 30 youths have acquired dressmaking skills at the centre. "I can now design and sew women dresses. I hope to start my own business in future," says Esther Muthoni, a beneficiary of the programme.

A helping hand

On August 4, Coca-Cola Company donated Sh2million to help the centre spread out its programmes.

The company’s communication director, Mrs Norah Odwesso lauded FRN’s efforts to empower slum residents especially former criminals.

"With the funds, we hope the institution will expand its training programmes to incorporate hairdressing, carpentry, welding and computer classes," she said.

Steve says the centre will utilise the funds to empower more people and help alleviate suffering in the slums.

"People in the slums engage in crime mainly because of poverty. We hope to reform criminals and reduce crime incidents," he confidently says.