Nairobi News

Hottensiah Waithira from Kangoya village in Kiambu County recounts how a lone gangster raided her house last Sunday at around 3 am, breaking the door using a huge stone.

Ms Waithira said at the time of the raid, her sister was also in the house sleeping in the sitting room.

“He came to my bedroom wielding a sword as I screamed for help. He ordered me to shut up and demanded that I give him Sh1,500 which he counted before pocketing. He then headed to where my sister was but I followed him there and informed him that she did not have any money and he left,” Ms Waithira told the Sunday Nation.

On this particular night, the gangster was wearing a black overcoat, a woolen hat, a pair of trousers and was carrying a small bag.

It was a similar case for Ann Njoki and her husband, who are lucky to be alive after the gangster broke into their house in Karamba-ini village some minutes to 2am on Thursday.

“When I realised that there was someone inside our house, I woke up my husband, who attacked him with a metal bar. My husband overpowered him and he fled,” Ms Njoki recalls, adding that he did not steal anything from them.

According to her, the gangster was a huge person who wore a “long coat” and was armed with a sword and a bright torch.

EVADED ARREST

The story of the mysterious gangster has caused fear in several villages in Kiambu but he is yet to be arrested even after the story was featured in the Daily Nation recently. He is variously described by his victims as tall, athletic, dark skinned and fierce looking.

Nicknamed Mutheca Itu, Kikuyu for ogre or night stalker, the lone gangster has been prowling neighbourhoods unleashing terror on residents.

He is said to target houses with wooden doors, for the obvious reason that they are relatively easy to break into. He has also reportedly raped some of his victims.

He has in recent weeks been spotted in Ndumberi, Kangoya, Karamba-ini, Riabai, Buriria and Kiawanganyu villages.

Even though police say they are yet to receive official complaints, the local administration confirms the gangster has evaded arrest.

His victims paint the picture of an athletic man donning a black overcoat and a pair of shorts and who always carries a sword, a torch and a walking stick.

Several victims report that he is always in a pair of socks but without shoes. He operates between 2am and 4am and breaks into houses by smashing the doors with a big stone.

“He broke the main door to my house using a stone and found his way to my bedroom where he demanded that I give him all the money I had. I gave him Sh740 and he left,” recounts one of the victims from Kangoya village.

ATTEMPTED RAPE

“After he left, we went to close the door, but met him walking back, forcing me to run back to my bedroom but he still followed me there,” the victim continues.

“I sat on my bed and he came and stood right in front of me. I was terrified. He unzipped his pair of shorts and ordered me to touch his manhood and it was at this time that I started shouting out of fear that he would rape me,” she said, requesting anonymity because of the embarrassment caused by the incident.

She was rescued by her son who was sleeping in the next house. “When he saw my son, he fled,” she states.

At Ms Joyce Wambui’s house, the gangster made away with Sh140, the only money the family had at the time.

Mr Samuel Njau from Kangoya village recalls meeting the gangster while walking home at around 3am, but he dodged him by hiding in the bush. He talks of a tall person, wearing dark-coloured pair of shorts.

Some of the victims said they have reported the matter to police posts in their respective villages, although Kiambu OCPD Duncan Nguthu maintains that he is not aware of any complaints.

But Ndumberi Chief Christopher Gathuma confirmed the existence of the criminal, who he described as mysterious, saying his office has received several reports and from the victims’ accounts, it appears that they have been terrorised by the same person.

The chief said they have launched a manhunt for the mysterious gangster.