Police in Nairobi’s Pangani area have said they are close to wiping out a gang that has been terrorising residents along Juja Road.
The gang known as ‘Katombi’ comprises of youthful men and has been in existence for close to two years now. It operates along Juja Road, Mlango Kubwa, Huruma, Eastleigh, and nearby estates in Nairobi.
Their leader, identified as Ngaruiya, was gunned down last December during a shoot-out involving officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
At the time, he and other accomplices were busted while robbing pedestrians; police engaged them in a two-hour exchange before he was felled. For months, the residents had been living in peace until the gang resurfaced with reports that they had installed another leader.
This time around, they carried out robbery activities and muggings around Mlango Kubwa along Juja Road and vanished towards Bondeni area after carrying out criminal activities.
On February 22, officers from Pangani police station cornered the gang as they robbed residents and managed to gun down the recently installed leader of the group identified as Jakande Kabede alias Kababa.
It is said that they staged an attack at Bondeni in Mathare, where they attacked civilians robbing them of valuables at gunpoint.
“Kabede was the de facto leader of the group and on the material evening he and two others had cornered a middle-aged woman,” Pangani police boss Julius Kiragu said.
“We had been on their trail for some time and on that evening, they opened fire at our officers who responded back, one of them escaped with a bullet wound but Kabede was cornered,” said Kiragu
One Webley revolver with four rounds of ammunition was recovered from him.
Investigators say the man was among a gang that was captured on CCTV cameras last week in Eastleigh while robbing money transfer shops.
It is believed that the crooks mostly in slum areas prefer to use such names to instil fear in areas where they reside.
