Scores injured in Bamburi gang attack
By Reuben Mwambingu, May 13, 2021
Reuben Mwambingu @reubenmwambingu
Several people were injured on Monday evening after a machete-wielding gang unleashed terror on Bashir residents in Bamburi, Mombasa county.
According to residents, the more than 20 attackers dressed in white robes appeared from Soweto graveyard and converged at Bashir grounds before spreading out in five groups.
“They emerged from Soweto graveyard. When they arrived at Bashir, they started attacking people with machetes.
We tried to fight back but they overpowered us and some of us were injured in the process.
We called for reinforcement from police and they were arrested,” said Leonard Kai, a boda boda operator, who sustained injuries on his left arm during the attack.
Pattern of operation
During the attack several people were injured although Nyali police boss Daniel Mamusaba said only two people were injured.
The gang is believed to be behind a wave of attacks that come just before Eid festivities in the past years according to residents.
In an exclusive interview, Kassim Yusuf, a Mombasa resident, who is familiar with their pattern of operation, said the split gangs commonly referred to as “Chafu” consist of different gangs has terrorised Mombasa residents for a long time with the trend attributed to drugs abuse.
Mombasa County Commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo yesterday ordered chiefs and their assistants to track down parents of suspects arrested in connection with Monday night attacks.
He further directed owners of hardware shops to record names of anyone purchasing a machete adding that it is an offence to sell a machete to a child under the age of 18.
The move, Kitiyo said, is part of a raft of measures aimed at dismantling network of vicious criminal gangs in Mombasa.
“Any teenager who commits crime should be arrested alongside the parents.
I, hereby, direct chiefs of Mtopanga and Kongowea to track down the suspects’ parents and hand them over to police latest by tomorrow failure to which they will lose their jobs,” said the visibly infuriated Kitiyo while addressing a public baraza at Soweto area.
Some of the most common gangs include Shiranga, Young Thug, Watalia and Wajukuu wa Bibi and in Kisauni they include Wakali Wao and Wakali Kwanza.