Women take on Nyeri rape gang as they protest crime surge
Nyeri County Police Commander Eunice Kihiko (right) calms an angry crowd in King’ong’o that had descended on a suspected member of a criminal gang with kicks and blows on April 4, 2016. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- It started in the morning when the gang attacked a woman going to work at Chania bridge near King’ong’o and stole her bag.
- Ten women from the slum decided they had had enough.
- They surrounded the small forest and called several boda boda riders for assistance.
- Nyeri County Police Commander Eunice Kihiko, who was passing by and heard the commotion, rescued the man.
Women from a slum in Nyeri County Monday ganged up to flush out a gang of youths they accused of raping and terrorising them from a forested area.
It started in the morning when the gang attacked a woman going to work at Chania bridge near King’ong’o and stole her bag, tried to abduct her but when she ran, they vanished.
The first incident was ignored by villagers, who are mostly from Witemere slums.
But around noon, the gang, using a knife, tried to rob yet another woman but she escaped while screaming.
Ten women from the slum decided they had had enough.
They surrounded the small forest and called several boda boda riders for assistance.
The group then combed the area and located one of the suspects and descended on him.
But Nyeri County Police Commander Eunice Kihiko, who was passing by and heard the commotion, rescued the man.
RESCUED SUSPECT
Ms Kihiko, who was heading to Mweiga to inspect the police recruitment which was going on, had to stop and hurriedly alight from her car to rescue the suspect as angry residents who rained blows on him as he lay in a ditch.
However, she had to negotiate with the furious mob.
Ms Ann Njeri expressed her relief after the suspect was arrested, saying he tried to rape her on December 28, 2015 in the same area.
“I was forced to lie to him that we could go and get intimate at my home.
‘‘Luckily I met a man along the way and shouted for help and he (suspect) escaped,” said Ms Njeri.
“We did not care how many they were or what they were carrying but we had to stop this once and for all.
“This area has become a no-go-zone for women even during daytime. We cannot allow this,” said Ms Irene Wanjiku, another resident.
The police commander thanked the residents for apprehending the suspect but advised them not to take the law into their hands.
“I encourage all of you to voluntarily come and be witnesses in court so that we can stop this kind of behaviour,” said Ms Kihiko.
According to one resident, the suspect had attacked a woman who was walking along a lonely path through the forest in the morning and stole her bag and a phone before he vanished into the bushes.
