Residents of Kisumu fear gangs return

A video of 10 young men being stripped naked and beaten and by a mob in broad daylight went viral on social media on March 16.

The youths were accused of having broken into five shops and stolen hair dryers, television sets, clothes and other assorted items.

The Sunday Nation has learnt that the youths were arrested by car wash operators after the owners of the kiosks raised the alarm.

They were taken to the kiosks run by Change in A Life Self-Help Group, who also style themselves as the China gang, when the mob beat them up.

The incident has sparked fears of the return of hostilities between violent criminal gangs in Kisumu.

FOUGHT FOR SUPREMACY

Shortly before the March 2013 General Election, the gangs terrorised residents as they fought for supremacy in the name of the political parties they supported.

The gangs, christened China and the American Marines, known for their political affiliation to TNA and ODM respectively, are feared to be rearing their heads ahead of the 2017 General Election.

However the leaders of the groups deny this is the case.

James Kirunda, the leader of the China group, said the issue of criminal gangs terrorising residents does not arise and they are being targeted politically.

In an interview with Sunday Nation, Mr Kirunda said the bone of contention with the American Marines is their close relationship with the Jubilee government.

He said the government, in a rehabilitation drive, had given them a lifeline and they had no reason to beat up the youths.

Indeed, the group owns a number of stalls, runs a car hire business used mostly by politicians when they visit Kisumu, and provides bodyguards for various TNA functions.

The American Marines, on the other hand, control the Kisumu bus park with an affiliate group in charge of Kondele shopping centre and its environs.

The American Marines also run stalls, dictate which matatus use select passenger pick-up points in the town and also supply bodyguards to members of their political party.

LED THE POLICE

But the China group vehemently denies that it is extorting traders and transporters.

“Because the boys stole from our premises, the people that apprehended them brought them here and we called the police at the Kisumu Railway Station who rescued them from the mob,” said Mr Kirunda.

He said the youths led the police to where some of the stolen items were hidden in Obunga Estate.

“How then are we accused of terrorising residents in this case? We are law abiding citizens whose policing initiatives have led to a decline in criminal activities in the town,” said Mr Kirunda.

Kisumu County Commissioner Erastus Ekidor dismissed claims of a resurgence of the China gang.

He said the lakeside town was very peaceful and cited the large number of organisations that prefer to hold their conferences there.

“We have made progress in investigations into the incident and one of the people who assaulted the youths is in police custody,” he said.

“This is an isolated incident which should not scare away people from Kisumu,” he said after a meeting with top officers from the National Intelligence Service, Kenya Police, Administration Police and Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

Nyanza regional coordinator Francis Mutie said there were fears the gangs could be regrouping for the 2017 General Election.

“We are warning them that if this is the case, we will deal with them just like we did in 2013,” he said.

Audi Ogada, a former chairman of the Kisumu Bus Park, accused the China gang of being behind the mayhem that has rocked the town over the years.

Mr Ogada said the group enjoyed police protection through bribing security forces.

“They enjoy protection when they commit offences such as the beating of the boys,” he said.

He said the gangs were linked to politicians and urged the Independence Policing Oversight Authority to deal with officers involved with the extortion rings.

“We need to form a county policing team led by the governor as stated in Section 41 of the National Police Service Act 2011,” said Mr Ogada.