The return of Nakuru gang violence

Two people were killed in Nakuru on what is suspected to be a retaliatory attack by suspected criminal gang members.

 The duo was attacked on Monday evening, in what the family believes to be a retaliatory attack on their kin, who allegedly had reformed.

Sarah Owendi, a resident of Rhonda, claimed that her son, Rogers Marucha, aged 25, was stabbed multiple times by people known to him.

She explained that her son, who lived in Kisii County, had visited her and was planning to travel back on Monday.

“That morning, my son told me he was travelling to Kisii, but he left to meet his friends, only for his body to be found dumped,” she added.

She claimed that Rogers had relocated to Kisii County after reforming from the outlawed gang(Confirm).

She alleged that when Rogers left the gang life, his friends were disappointed with his stand and wanted to take revenge as they branded him a snitch.

“On Sunday evening, I remember my son receiving a call from his friends, and he would question them as to why they were disturbing him, calling for peace,” she claimed.

On Monday, Rogers allegedly told his mother that he had lost his phone, requesting she replace his Safaricom line, and left.

She would later receive a call from his son’s number at 11 pm, as the caller told her to go and collect her son’s body.

She claimed that the caller was his son’s friend, claiming he knew him as he had stolen from her in the past.

“Neighbours said that the killer had promised my son to meet up, claiming he would give him his phone, he was bundled into a vehicle with seven youths from Rhonda,” she alleged.

She claimed that the killer called and threatened them.

Owendi alleged that the gang has been disturbing them since their son allegedly reformed from the gang activities.

Her son, she alleged, was once arrested due to gang-related activities.

“My son had reformed; he was trying to make ends meet in Kisii County, but I found him dead; they had poured alcohol on his body when we found him at Sewage,” she regretted.

Davin Marucha, Roger's sister, claimed that her brother was waiting for his friend to return his phone, which was allegedly stolen.

Davin said that his brother would later disappear, but received a call from her friends that Rogers had been abducted by his friends.

“I received a call with the caller claiming that we should go and collect our brother’s body. I mobilized and went to the scene only to find his lifeless body lying on the ground with blood oozing,” she said.

She believed that Rogers was killed somewhere else, and his body was dumped at the Sewage area.

Davin claimed that he had warned Rogers against being friends with his killer, as he had wronged him multiple times.

 She claimed that they have been having problems with the gang since 2019.

A few kilometres from where Rogers was killed, at Flamingo Estate, we met E.A. She claimed to have heard noises from outside her house at around 7 pm.

“The noise was so intense. At first, I thought it was a police officer, but upon confirming, I found they were young men rushing outside the gate,” she said.

She learned that Henry Ong’ae, one of her neighbours, was stabbed, so she rushed him to Nakuru County Referral Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Nakuru Police Commander Emmanuel Opuru said that the cases were under investigation to establish the reason behind the two deaths.

“We are investigating to establish whether the two cases were related,” Opuru said.

Glance box

County Commander Emmanuel Opuru said that investigations were on.

The residents believe that the killings were retaliatory attacks, related to gang leadership. 

Rogers was arrested in December 2022, but he allegedly told the police that he had reformed.