A terrifying spate of violence has gripped the small village of Mutoho in Murang'a County, as a gang-wielding pangas has launched a series of brutal attacks on unsuspecting residents, leaving several injured and the community in fear.
The attacks occurred late in the evening, around 9:30 or 10 pm, according to multiple victims.
One of the victims, still visibly shaken, recounted the harrowing experience.
"I was going home and I met a gang. They attacked me and I had nothing to do because they were many. Some started ransacking my pockets while others held my hands and legs, others used their panga to assault me. They left when I fainted. They stole a phone that didn't belong to me and Ksh300," Esborn Ndung'u disclosed.
Another victim, Harun Njuguna, said he woke up in a hospital bed after he was ambushed and maimed by the men who struck late in the night demanding money.
"They ambushed me and they said they wanted money. I told them I didn't have any. They started assaulting me and that is how I woke up at the hospital. They chopped my head and my hands. I know two of them," Njuguna said.
The sheer brutality of the attacks has left the villagers in a state of shock and anger. One resident, expressing the community's collective frustration and fear, issued a stern warning.
"My plea as a resident of Mutoho goes to boda boda riders, if you know someone is carrying something that he has not worked for, like farm produce, when we find out, we will set all of you on fire," Julius Mwaura warned.
Another resident claimed that the perpetrators are known and some houses belonging to the suspects had been torched in two villages.
"We know them and they are people who idle around chewing miraa and drinking alcohol. We decided to unite against them and work with the police to ensure peace. Six houses have been torched, three in Riatu and three in Mutoho," the resident narrated.
The local police have investigated the attacks and are urging anyone with information to come forward.
In the meantime, residents are taking extra precautions, with some organizing community watch groups to patrol the village at night.
The incident has highlighted the urgent need for increased security measures in rural areas, where residents often feel neglected and vulnerable to such violent crimes.
Notably, in 2021, residents of Gaichanjiru in Kandara, Murang’a county, urged the police to apprehend a gang of seven youths that had been terrorising them for months.
In April 2021, a 28 year-old-man was killed while he was sleeping at his uncle's place.
Residents said the gang attacked Samuel Ngugi at 2am. They stormed the home saying they wanted to kill Ngugi.
