Whenever Gaza gang is mentioned, chills run down the spines of Nairobi residents.
The gang, which mostly operates around Kayole area, is said to be ruthless and kills at the slightest provocation.
They allegedly draw their inspiration from Jamaican artiste Vybz Kartel, who is in prison for murder.
Gaza mostly comprises of hardened criminals in their youthful age and they have terrorised residents of Nairobi and its environs for a while.
It has emerged that they have several identification marks including; a dragon or the name Gaza, a tattoo of a tear drop on the face or three cuts on one of the eyebrows.
The criminal activities of the group have led to many lives being lost and some of their victims have been left with hefty hospital bills due to extensive bodily harm.
According to a senior detective based in Kayole, the Gaza gang operates like the dreaded Mungiki and are armed with guns, batons, daggers and other crude weapons.
Sources indicate that they recently stole a pistol from a police officer they killed in the area.
“They are targeting police officers so that they can restock the armoury; we have managed to recover a number of guns from them,” a detective who sought anonymity told Capital FM.
Boniface Oketch, who was attached to Soweto Police Station, was killed by gunmen believed to be from the gang and on the same day, the gang killed three more people still within Kayole, among them a security guard.
Gaza also has an affiliate gang called the 42brothers who mostly break into houses and carry out other criminal activities in the city.
It is alleged that the gang also recruits women who are mostly tasked with carrying firearms and giving crucial leads.
Another officer revealed that members of the Gaza gang are well trained on using firearms as they often engage police in fierce gun battles and exude a lot of confidence.
Detectives are probing the activities of the gang in a bid to establish its structures though they say politicians have been financing the group, at times using it to either cause havoc during political events or cause tension.
Being an election year, police say the terror gangs are expected to be very active more so during the nominations stage, a do or die activity for several politicians hoping to clinch or retain certain positions.
