The Coast Regional Police Commander, Ali Nuno, has directed authorities in Kwale County to arrest parents whose children are involving themselves with the notorious criminal gang known as the Panga Boys in Diani.
Addressing Diani residents on Tuesday, March 25, the police commander strongly emphasized that poor parenting has played a key role in prompting young people, especially teenagers, to engage with the criminal gang.
Nuno has thus directed chiefs and sub-chiefs in Diani to submit the names of the teenagers engaging with the gangs, along with their parents, so that police may arrest them.
"The problem is you, parents. Poor parenting is contributing to this problem. As the whites say, 'Spare the rod, spoil the child.' You have already spared the rod, so definitely, the child will be spoiled," he said.
"The chiefs and the assistant chiefs should make sure that as they submit the names of children involving themselves with the gangs in your sublocations, they also submit the names of their parents so that they may be arrested together," he said.
The commander has further slammed high-ranking security officials in the county, stressing that they have been lagging in dealing with criminal gangs.
In a heavy tone, Nuno warned that the officials might be dismissed if they make no progress in eliminating the Panga Boys gang.
"These small, small boys should not be hard to defeat. But if it is impossible to beat them, then you have no mandate to be here. It cannot be that every day, someone is bleeding, and the county commander and other officials are here. It will not be accepted," he said.
The Panga Boys gang has long been a thorn in the flesh of Kwale County residents. On Saturday, March 25, the gang conducted violent attacks in Diani, leaving several people injured.
In a video that circulated on social media, the gang, posing as protestors, was seen storming into residential buildings with machetes, chasing and robbing residents.
Several people, including a journalist from a local radio station, were injured after attempting to fight back.
"I was coming back from work, unsuspecting of what was happening, when I arrived in Diani. On my way, I bumped into a gang of six young men," said one of the victims.
"On seeing me, one of them unleashed a machete, and while I was trying to run away, I fell, and he chopped off my ear," the victim added.
According to residents, members of the group often disguise themselves with masks to hide their identities, while some do not.
