We will crush you, new gang warned

Police officers have been deployed in Likoni, Mombasa County, to track down a new militia group going by the name Kapenguria Six.

County Commissioner Maalim Mohamed on Friday warned emerging criminal gangs in the county that they would be crushed, calling on parents to see to it that their children keep off crime.

"There is this new militia group in Likoni calling itself Kapenguria Six. The name is an insult and disrespect to our freedom heroes who were detained in Kapenguria in colonial times," he added.

I want to tell its members and other groups such as Wakali Wao and Wakali Kwanza that enough security officers have been deployed there and we shall crush them.”

He was addressing a meeting during the launch of the Mombasa chapter of the Kenya Alliance of Residents Associations (Kara) co-sponsored by Safaricom at Royal Court Hotel.

The meeting officially named Kara-Safaricom Luncheon was convened to discuss security issues and how technological innovation can be used in the fight against insecurity.

Mr Mohamed said due to emerging security challenges in the county, the frequency of meetings with security agencies and stakeholders had been increased from monthly to weekly to address the concerns.

He said juvenile criminal gangs had also emerged and blamed parents for failing to play their role of protecting their children effectively.

The commissioner said there was no incident of sucking of women’s breasts in Kisauni as reported in the local media and his office was treating the matter as an allegation.

Mr Mohamed urged the county government and MPs to use CDF money to put up CCTV cameras in all parts of Mombasa city, saying 90 per cent of the area remained uncovered.

This will enhance efforts to fight crime, he said. “So far, Old Town, Fort Jesus and the Likoni ferry channel are safer because we have put enough officers. I want to assure tourists that they can move within the Old Town without fear,” he said.

He said Mombasa was a tourist town and should be made safer and called on the public to cooperate with security officers to enhance security in the area by sharing information.

Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar urged citizens to hold the national government accountable for security because the function was not devolved.