Police in Kenya have resorted to a new way of fighting crime in the capital city Nairobi and are now using Facebook to nail down wanted criminals.
Since most of the robbers are aged between 18-27years, they mostly communicate via social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook. Police have created pages to openly warn them of their deeds and the consequences that will befall them.
One such officer refers to himself as Hessy wa Kayole on Facebook and is well-known for his spine-chilling posts that warn wanted criminals in the city.
His posts are mostly in Sheng, an informal language used by the youth and attract a variety of comments.
On Wednesday, he put up one such post warning a wanted criminal who is believed to reside in Saika area that his days were numbered.
[caption caption="A Facebook Post on One of his Pages"]
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In May, 'Nairobi's Prettiest Thug' Claire Adi Vybz was shot dead along Kangundo road while in the company of four others and prior to her killing, Hessy had given her a warning saying her days were numbered.
He also warned her boyfriend only known as Mwanii that he would be the next one to be gunned down as police were hot on his heels.
There are several other Facebook pages going with the name Hessy including; Hessy wa Dandora, Hessy wa Huruma and Hessy wa Eastlando, all of which post photos and details of wanted criminals.
Last week, a second female gangster was shot dead in the company of her boyfriend around Soweto after they were ambushed by police and refused to surrender.
The woman, Marsha Minaj, was a close ally of Claire and had also been warned through one of Hessy's posts that her association with criminals would lead to her death.
[caption caption="Facebook Post Warning Marsha Minaj"]
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Kenyans are divided on this issue as some think the pages applaud extra-judicial killings but others maintain that it is the most effective way of curbing down crime because so far it is working.
