Police beef up patrols to hunt for knife-wielding criminals
Mombasa Police Commander Augustine Nthumbi puts on a face mask on April 21, 2020. Masks were among assorted items donated by well-wishers in the fight against the coronavirus. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Mombasa Police Commander Augustine Nthumbi said the gangsters are now targeting people during the day due to the night curfew.
- Mr Nthumbi on Tuesday urged residents not to let their guard down because security has improved.
Police have been deployed to nearly all streets in Mombasa to deal with daytime attacks by knife-wielding criminals.
Mombasa Police Commander Augustine Nthumbi said the gangsters are now targeting people during the day due to the night curfew.
He said street urchins are also involved in the attacks on major roads in the city.
“We have received cases of people being attacked during the day and that’s why we have now deployed more officers to all the streets in the county,” he said.
He said the criminals have been targeting their victims in isolated streets.
SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS
He urged residents to be on the lookout for suspicious characters whenever they are in town.
“We want people to be vigilant, but we are also assuring them that we have our officers in every corner. Just to be safe, please do not walk alone in isolated areas,” he said.
The 7pm to 5am curfew was imposed by President Uhuru Kenyatta on March 27 as one of the measures adopted to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has claimed 14 lives across the country.
“They have no one to attack at night — that’s why they have changed their schedules. But we promise we are going to deal with them,” the police boss said.
But he said violent crime has declined in all hotspots in the county.
GANGSTERS KILLED
Notably, there have been no reported insecurity cases in parts of Mombasa, including the notorious Kisauni sub-county, Likoni and Old Town.
Before the Covid-19 outbreak, cases of attacks by teen gangs were rife, especially in Kisauni.
Other cases had also been reported in Old Town. In February alone, there were more than five attacks and robberies on M-Pesa operators.
At least 10 suspected gangsters were killed in Kisauni.
Mr Nthumbi on Tuesday urged residents not to let their guard down because security has improved.
“We still need members of the public to continue partnering with us by reporting anything suspicious to the police. We must continue to be united to secure our county,” he said.
He spoke when he received donations from well-wishers to boost police operations during the coronavirus pandemic.
