Is dreaded Gaza in Kayole a criminal gang or cult worshipping Jamaican artist ?

 Some of the 21 members of the notorious Gaza gang who surrendered to the Kayole police

Bleary-eyed youngsters dressed in silver and gold rings, neck chains, oversized hoods and tattooed bodies patrol the crowded dusty lanes, alleys and bus stops of Kayole with abandon. 

Hidden in their outfits are lethal weapons with which they kill or seriously injure anyone who crosses their path. They call themselves ‘Gaza.’

Residents here have learnt to walk while watching their backs as this group  - who walk in groups of  between 15 and 20 —  is a deadly gang that viciously strikes in broad daylight.

Reliable sources indicate that most businesses in Kayole close before darkness sets in while some, particularly those dealing with money like mobile phone transfer or neighbourhood bank agents, have been forced to install extra security measures.

They are organised in the manner of infamous Jamaican criminal gang Gaza from Portmore (a shanty town in Jamaica), whose members steal and kill at will under the command of jailed Jamaican dancehall artiste Adjija Palmer aka Vybz Kartel. In fact, the local boys chant rituals and pray to Vybz Kartel, who has been jailed in connection with two murders, illegal possession of firearms and armed robbery.

The Nairobian got hold of five former Gaza members who recently renounced the cultic gang. The youngsters revealed that they would have not have granted this interview were they still active members of the gang. It took the intervention of Pastor Ndura Waruinge, a former Mungiki coordinator, for the reformed men to open up. We had to wait for eight hours for them to survey the area for their safety before we got down for the interview.

“I would not dare walk into a police station or a chief’s camp. But since I left Gaza, I am no longer afraid of meeting the chief,” said one of the youngsters.

“Tuwache kudanganyana, mtoto wa mama na mtoto wa mahuru hawawezipatana (let us not lie to each other, a rich child will never get along with a child from a poor family),” said the group’s chairman, who is aged 25.  He however declined to be named since they are apparently still not convinced about the sincerity of the amnesty by the government.

The five are among a group of 60 youths aged between 16 and 25 from Njiru who renounced Gaza and are being rehabilitated under the guidance of Ndura and Bishop Josphat Njoroge Gitau of Jubilee Restoration Christian Church (JRCC) of Njiru. The five confessed their sins and gave details of their life as dangerous criminals who abused drugs that drove them to cause bloodshed even when the circumstances did not warrant such violence.

A report by the National Crime Research Centre released last August listed Kayole as one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in Nairobi. The report described the area as “a gang-infested area notorious for kidnappings, illicit arms trade, muggings and armed robbery,” even as area residents accused the police of laxity and colluding with the gang to rob them.

Gaza is a ‘spiritual gang’ with networks across the country. They claim they reign supreme in all slums, low-income and middle-income estates in Nairobi, and that they have invaded schools in urban and rural areas.

For the past two years, Gaza has controlled Nairobi’s Eastlands, giving police and residents sleepless nights. The gang has been in existence since 2012 and came to prominence when some of its members attended a huge political rally in the city, a few days to the 2013 General Election.

Emboldened after the event, the gang members went on a violent spree that alarmed security agents and residents. Gaza first made its statement of intent in Kayole where the teens were involved in daylight robberies, throwing police into a spin.

“We act and behave as directed by our god, Vybz Kartel. Even when you read the Bible, some of his lines are straight from the verses,” said a 25-year-old youth who quit Gaza. The gang is thought to be a cult on a mission to confuse poor and gullible youth who are allegedly being promised a better life by unknown people.

Introduced as ‘chairman’ by his four colleagues when the five-member group met this writer in the company of Reverend Ndura Waruinge and Bishop Josephat Njoroge, the young man, seemingly not remorseful about his past, talks fondly and excitedly about Kartel.

In our chat, barely a sentence is completed without reference to or invoking the name of Kartel, whom they regard as the true living ‘god.’ But according to Ndura, Gaza is a cult that derives pleasure from spilling human blood. The youth, mostly school dropouts, are lured to take an oath and join the gang with the promise of financial aid from abroad. It is still not clear who is behind the recruitment and how the exercise is carried out.

The Gaza ideology is to create social disorder in society, argues Ndura, who for the past one month has been reaching out to members of organised criminal gangs in Kayole and Njiru to surrender to authorities.

“It is a spiritual and demonic cult that borrows heavily from Illuminati. Members draw pleasure from shedding human blood. For them, it is against the group’s doctrine not to cause bloodshed,” Ndura said, adding that 50 per cent of Gaza membership comprises former Mungiki members.

Members are normally armed with guns, knives and razor blades. Ndura claims the group is spread all over the country with a stronghold in Nairobi’s Eastlands area.

But Kayole OCPD Ali Nuno maintained that the group is a criminal gang with no proper command structure. He said he was not aware that Gaza could be an oath-taking cult.

“There is nothing like that (cult). The youth are simply being brainwashed. They don’t have a clear structure, but they are ruthless. They even use guns in broad daylight,” said Nuno.

The police boss added that Gaza criminal activities tend to peak during school holidays. It is believed that learning institutions are fertile grounds for recruitment.

“Many students from Nairobi who school in rural schools are Gaza members. There are certain unique characteristics that enable members who have never met to easily recognise each other,” claimed the chairman.