Kitale residents worried by rise in killer gangs
Tuwani Ward representative Francis Were speaks to residents who have been alarmed by the rise in organised crime in the region. The residents want security agents to apprehend the criminals. PHOTO | PHILIP BWAYO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The residents said police have failed to apprehend criminals who killed a pastor and a primary school teacher.
- County commissioner Anne Gakuria recently said there are 50,000 illegal firearms in Trans Nzoia.
- She said most of the firearms are brought in through the Uganda border.
Residents of Tuwani in the outskirts of Kitale Town in Trans Nzoia County are calling on security agents in the region to put an end to rising cases of crime that have led to loss of lives since the beginning of 2017.
The residents wondered why police have failed to apprehend any member of the gang that killed a pastor and a primary school teacher from the region in a span of four weeks.
“We want the county commissioner to tell us why it so hard to bring to book these criminals [who] are behind the rise in the wave of crime,” said Mr Mungai Kago, a resident.
KILLER GANGS
Tuwani Ward representative Francis Were attributed the incidents to organised killer missions as no robberies have been reported in most of the cases.
“What the police need to unravel is the reason behind the deaths that are [not] characterised [by any] cases of stealing. These need to be curbed before more lives are lost,” said Mr Were.
County commissioner Anne Gakuria recently said there are 50,000 firearms in Trans Nzoia which are in the hands of gangsters who have been using them to perpetuate crime in the region.
"Our intelligence has indicated that there are many illegal firearms in the hands of criminal gangs that are being used for organised crime.
"The weapons come through the porous border [with] Uganda," said Mrs Gakuria.
The residents are now threatening to hold demonstrations if the authorities do not address their plight urgently.
