Cops and their robber sons

John Gerezani

Robber-cop is a term used in neti to refer to discordant families where the son is a kauzi (gangster) while the parent is a law enforcement agent.

"How could that be?" You must have asked yourself sometime last year at the sight of a grieving and distraught father slumped on the steering wheel of his vehicle as he was being interviewed by the press at a scene of crime along Kangundo road.

One of the slain carjackers was his son. He was, and still is a top cop.

This reminds me of back in the late 1990s when Chris joined me in neti. He was a suave and sharp boy whom I found too mature for his age. The young brother was, however, a magnetic attraction for the snout mouthed leeches who thought they could intimidate and manipulate him into submission.

But for every cat-call directed at him, he duly answered in kind with a flurry of blows to the offending mouth.

It’s a quiet afternoon when I saunter into his ward and find him chatting up a pal of mine. We duly establish contact and after a while, he opens up and tells me that his late dad was a top cop and that being his dad’s pet saw him being taught how to handle guns at a very tender age. So proficient was he that by the time he joined high school, he could easily dismantle, clean and assemble any calibre of firearm that his cop dad brought home.

Wielding immense power

Here l was facing an authority on weaponry. My excitement was palpable, but l had to deliberately suppress it so as to win his confidence and get the whole story that had landed him behind bars.

"Cheki Johnnie," the boy started as we whiled away time.

"Old man spoilt me and that led me to drop out of school in Form Three. Due to peer influence, I occasionally "borrowed" my dad’s ndenga (pistol) to show off to my pals. However, it was not until another chap in our hood suggested that we could use the thing to make chwaa that l first awakened to the immense power that I could wield," He briefly paused before continuing: "Before long I was leading a group of estate boys on petty heists which eventually progressed into carjackings. All this time, my dad never suspected anything despite his experience and this emboldened me to widen my net. Soon enough, I had bought my Taurus pistol, but as if fate conspired against me or God wanted to grab my attention, my dad was killed in an exchange of fire with gangsters while in the line of duty."

Gang fights

I offer my condolences which he quickly brushes aside with a shrug. He now tells me that his dad’s demise was the turning point in his life as everything went into a free-fall and he spun out of control. He became heartless and did stuff which I cannot dare write here. Suffice it to say, his 40 days came knocking and he found himself here. Strange as it may sound, he launched a successful appeal against the judgement. Upon reaching home, he came to a stark realisation that his buddy and fellow goon had cuckolded him. That sent him on a war-path that saw his rival knocking on the pearly gates. The rival gang made good their revenge in due course and Chris met his death the way he had lived — by the gun.

Had this been an isolated incident, I could’ve let it rest at that, but the increasing number of such netizens has got me thinking. Even a smarter here had a son jailed for robbery recently, so what’s happening? For long it was impossible for a cop to let his son get arrested and charged, so this spawned forth a false sense of untouchability. The danger here is that once wakomi (gangsters) find a weak link, they exploit it to the maximum. Do not be surprised to find out goons using the parking lots in the law enforcement officers’ residential quarters to park stolen vehicles as they raise the least suspicion. It happened before in some netis and police lines. Could it be happening somewhere now? Just a thought.