Two Mombasa County residents were left fighting for their lives at the Coast General Hospital after running into a machete-wielding gang in the Likoni area on Saturday night, August 1.
According to eyewitness reports, the gang took to the streets at night and terrorized anyone they came across.
"One had a fractured radius and ulna in the right forearm while the other has injuries on the head, right shoulder and arm as well," a doctor at the Coast General Hospital explained.
The horrifying attacks resulted in a unified appeal by the locals, who urged Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i to intervene and solve the gang menace in the area once and for all.
Reports indicated that such attacks are a common occurence in Likoni, with over 30 gangs operating in the area.
Speaking to the media, a frustrated resident sent a message to President Uhuru Kenyatta, promising to march to State House,Nairobi if that is what it would take to get his attention.
She further intimated that the gangs were, more often than not, linked to hard drugs that are prevalent in the area.
The machete-wielding gangs have unleashed terror in the various sub-counties within Mombasa, with Likoni and Kisauni being among the most affected.
A former member of a new gang once revealed to the media that they attack people to get money to sustain their drug addiction.
Over the years, several gangs have emerged in Likoni going by various names including Likoni Young Turks, Watalia, Waliotengwa, Wajukuu wa Bibi among others.
On April 26, 2019, 76 former gangsters turned themselves in to the authorities and surrendered their crude weapons, stating that they were in need of help.
An estimated 250 have so far taken a similar path, with the county government taking them through a rigorous re-integration program .
