Pop culture crime icons: The death of fierce killer cops, Hessy, Saigon Punisher and Black widow
Social media fierce cops have become something of a pop culture item.
Gengetone stars Rong Rende, now famously known as Wakadinali, mention them in their song, in a lyric they rap, “Saa hii uko kwa list ya tano na kwa midomo za wathii kaa Saigon.”
Saigon the Punisher is a fierce cop social media cop who warns young gang members before a cop’s bullet fells them.
He is one of the faceless social media cops who have hunted and killed members of gangs from various Nairobi hoods.
Meet the faceless cops
The faceless cops under this squad include; Hessy wa Dandora, Hessy wa Eastlando, Hessy wa Kayole, amongst other Hessys.
Also read: Hessy wa Dandora sends chilling threat to online users for reporting him
Others are; Blackest Widow, Wendy Black Panther, Saigonpunisher James, and the most recent one who joined the group known as Speakup.
They are described as faceless because no one can tell who they are, but they run accounts on Facebook which are known to identify suspected criminals and send warnings to them that they should seize their ways and change failure to which they will die.
The officers who operate on the social media platform are faceless and unknown. It has been hard to tell how they get their information.
Wakadinali’s monster hit in 2022 Geri Inengi kinda points to this new phenomenon of faceless police and their snitches.
In a lyric, they rap, “Ukisnitch juu ya clique unasundwa
Shock delete unakam kuchunguza, u*****!
Cock de ting ka umekam kutunyuria
Finger imekwama kwa trigger unabuya
Usikam ukiwa steam ka hutaki kupanguzwa
Ni genje njege walikam kuwatuma
…Ati Scarde amechange? Haha, ati Scarde amechange..
Kwani unaexpect nini Fathe akikubless?
Ni ma pupu… u**** n**** muanze kuvaa vest Cheki Dosh Dosh”
Also read: Hessy wa Dandora gone: Facebook deletes page of crime buster
Watch the entire video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OgFVlwin-4
Licensed to kill: Hunting down gang members
In April 2017, an image of a beautiful young lady made rounds on social media after she was posted by a group of faceless digital killer cops who sent her a warning saying that she should change her criminal ways or get killed.
Also read: Top Nairobi crime buster Hessy wa Dandora reveals threats to his life
A month later, Claire Njoki Kibia, aka Clea Adi Vybz, was shot dead in a deadly police ambush in Kayole, Nairobi County.
This was the first suspected criminal to have ever been warned by the faceless cops and ended up being killed in cold blood.
Her death hit news headlines, with Kenyans not believing how a young, pretty lady could be involved in crime within the city.
During her burial in Murang’a County on May 18, 2017, very few of her friends turned up as the faceless officers said they would be monitoring the burial ceremony.
After the ceremony ended, the faceless cops named more suspected gangsters, warning them to change or face the same wrath that Ms. Njoki faced.
Social media warnings
Interestingly, they also shared their images on various social media platforms and even requested them to leave the city.
One of them was George Mwaniki alias Mwanii, the leader of the notorious Gaza Gang and who was the husband to Ms. Njoki.
Also read: Bury your son in peace and move on, Hessy Wa Dandora tells deceased suspect’s family
However, this did not shake Mr. Mwaniki. He also responded by naming three officers he believed killed his girlfriend.
“Vini, Ngare and Blackie you killed Claire because she refused to rat me out, then made it look like she was a criminal too. How do you take pride in knowing that you killed an innocent person and lied to Kenyans that you recovered weapons?” he wrote on Facebook.
A few days after he made the post, his other girlfriend, Marsha Minaj, was shot dead by the police. This happened just two days after a warning by Hessy had been shared on social media platforms.
On Sunday, August 20, 2017, reports emerged that two gangsters had been killed in the Witeithe area, Kiambu County.
True to the words of the faceless cops, Mr. Mwaniki had been shot dead alongside his friend, only identified as William alias Willy.
Among the police force, he was also referred to as Sparta, and he had killed several officers, especially in the vast Eastlands region.
In this incident, officers did not say that they would be attending his burial, but interestingly, they did and left with names and faces of more suspects who operated in the group.
End of the road for social media fierce cops
When people have been attacked or know suspected criminals, they usually open pseudo-accounts or even use their original accounts on Facebook and share details with a group of faceless cops.
In extra-judicial killings, especially within Nairobi, the group usually gives chilling details of those killed by mobs or shot dead by police officers.
Also read: Woman in ‘Hessy wa Dandora’s’ hit list remains defiant in new posts
In 2019, locals, especially in Kayole, Njiru Sub-County, believed that the end of the road for the team Hessy had come to an end.
This is after former Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti shared with the locals who gave testimonies from families of how their loved ones had been executed.
Mr Kinoti then said that no one would ever die at the hands of the police as better ways of dealing with crime existed.
“I am saying no one will ever cover for a police officer who kills under my watch,” Mr Kinoti said.
The remarks marked the start of abolishing the Flying Squad, which was also linked to extrajudicial killing and robberies within the city.
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