The return of Maragua gangland

For years, Maragua town in Murang'a County has been synonymous with cases of runaway crime that include murder, defilement, rape, sodomy, kidnappings, narcotics, and illicit brews trade as well as livestock and crop thefts.

As it remained on the spotlight, nationwide security index in 2019 classified the town as among the most dangerous ones, the worst in Murang'a County.

The shame saw the government launch an action plan that saw Maragua police station overhauled and remedial measures enacted that saw the area security stabilise by close of 2023.

But things appear to have gone south again as murderous gangs steal the show by carrying out cold blood murders, sexual assaults, and bold sale of illicit brews.

The town which is in Maragua Constituency is now firmly back in news for the cruelty of murder, another man being found murdered and dumped near Presbyterian Church of East Africa situated in the area.

Another recent incident that is yet to leave residents' lips owing to the cruelty involved is the February 9, 2025, murder of a three-year-old Elizabeth Wamaitha.

Her lifeless body was found dumped into a public mini dam, defiled, strangled and hit on top of the head with a blunt object.

Postmortem report by pathologist Waithera Mbau that was conducted on February 10, 2025, at Murang'a Level 5 Hospital mortuary indicated that she was hit with a blunt object on the head, she had bruises around the eyes and neck. Her hymen had been broken and had multiple bruises around her private part.

It added that "she was thrown in the water body while dead because she had no water in the lungs, trachea or oesophagus".

Further observation was that she had died before four(4) hours, her mother Ms Florence Wanjiku saying she had fed the deceased at 2pm. 

Young Wamaitha was playing outside her mother's rental house when she was discovered missing at around 4pm, only for her deflowered body to be found in the dam the following morning.

On the same night that young Wamaitha was missing, Ms Elizabeth Njeri,79, was last seen entering her semi-permanent house at around 7pm in the nearby Kamucheru village while singing a praise and worship song only to be found the following morning sexually assaulted and murdered in her sleep.

She lived alone and her neighbours describe her as good-hearted, jovial, and highly religious woman.

"There are things that come to shame a whole village. If I had a way, I would wish the media never highlighted the case. Yet, we should be bared for what we are. This murder convicts our societal moral decadence. I feel shy to introduce myself as a human male from a village where a 79-year-old woman can be raped and murdered," said Mr Njuguna Maina,86.

This was preceded by the December 19, 2024, mysterious house fire at where four children lost their lives.

The fire claimed the lives of Alvin Kamau aged four(4) years, Brenda Wanjiku 3, Jayden Waweru 2, and Lyon Muturi 1.6 years. They died as they slept inside an iron sheet structure that their parents called home.

On January 8, 2025, in Mung'etho village, Ms Grace Wanja Maina aged 47 years was retrieved from her house with extensive fire injuries that killed her a week later, police saying there was a male assailant who was being sought.

To date, the suspect is yet to be apprehended, leaving the deceased family with unconsoled grief seeking justice to afford it closure.

On January 24, 2025, Mercy Njoya 34 had been attacked by a gang of four(4) in her Maragua town’s Mathare Estate and petrol-bombed where she suffered injuries that killed her 13 days later as she received treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital.

Maragua Residents and Business Community Welfare Association coordinator Mr Mohammed Maluki said “we have been patient with our officers and we have no reason to stop being such”. 

"But we also demand a reciprocation of our faith in them by having our security improved...we cannot afford being clustered as a failed town. Police officers must cooperate with us and we continue helping them secure us. But sometimes police appear to be pursuing rent seeking goals that have nothing to do with getting their job as described in the books of law, done," said Mr Maluki.

He urged area DCI to provide area residents with a register of all reported murders in the past five(5) years and a catalogue of those resolved.

"Unless where suspects were apprehended by residents or they surrendered to police, rarely do we hear that our DCI has cracked a serious crime case," he said.

Area DCI boss Mr John Kanda said his department is working hard but could not provide statistics of reported murders and those he has cracked.

"We are working hard to address the cases. All the pending and emerging investigations are very active and any time the culprits are nabbed  they will all face the law," he said.

He added that "We are very professional and we shall not leave any stone unturned...We urge and encourage members of the public to surrender any other information that may assist us in our investigations, and we will act with speed".

Maragua MP Mary wa Maua is now demanding immediate action plan from area security.

She on February 14, 2025, told AVDelta News that “I find it increasingly untenable that I continue tolerating this total collapse of security in this area that has a fully fledged police station with more than official officers who should be dealing with circumstances that lead the society to be home to cruel minds that execute these heart-wrenching crimes”.

"This is now too much to handle. My constituency has become home to nauseating news about runaway murder cases and nearly all of them never get resolved. We now demand our officers to pull up their socks," Ms Wa Maua said.

Ms Wa Maua added that "war on narcotics must be escalated to target even those in government who exercise leniency on dealers".

She said some of the murders being recorded in the area especially those that involve sexual assaults against children and the elderly are narcotics' influenced "and should we have dedicated officers who can interact well with residents, intelligence against criminals would feely flow".

Ms Wa Maua said she will challenge Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen to directly task Maragua Constituency security leadership to provide reasons why the situation is such dire.

She said she has been very supportive to security organs in the area, but as matters currently stand, she added, she will demand security for her people.

"While as political leaders we will do our part supporting security officers achieve best working conditions, they must reciprocate by doing what they have to do to enforce the rule of law," she said.

She said that "when these murders happen, we should see actual suspects arrested and charged in court, prosecution winning deterrent convictions so as to disabuse the notion that human life has become all this cheap".

Maragua Assistant County Commissioner Joshua Okello said the situation is under control and urged area security stakeholders to refrain from blame game.

"We collectively owe it to ourselves to make our area secure. We are not supposed to appear as if criminals have boxed us into a corner. There was a time this town was bad and I can own up. But for the past three years we have seen great improvement owing to security hard work," Mr Okello said.

He added that "we are now experiencing a slow return of those criminal networks but give us a few days, not weeks, and come back to me for results...as for investigations and charging of serious crimes, we want to reiterate that we will help our DCI get on top of things".

Murang'a Governor Irungu Kang'ata has urged security officers to ensure that both levels of government are working in sync to ensure security prevails.

"The county government and the national government work for a unitary state serving the same people with the same agenda of offering reprieve to all," Dr Kang'ata said.

He said "it pains to witness these grieving families handed such cruelty by roaming criminals".

County Health Chief Officer Mr Eliud Maina told us that Maragua Level 4 Hospital has of late been experiencing an upsurge of patients seeking treatment for sexual and other forms of physical assault.

"We are particularly alarmed on the ever increasing number of defilement patients. We are on daily basis being reached out to help waive curative, mortuary and postmortem bills. All is not well," Mr Maina said. 

Mr Maina said "our boss Dr Kang'ata has since directed that all gender based Violence victims be getting bill waivers...it is our hope that we will continue working in harmony with the national government so that we can reduce the suffering our people are going through in this area".
Murang'a Senator Joe Nyutu said the upsurge of criminal activities in Maragua town is scaring.

“These deaths that are being reported in alarming frequency in Maragua town are very suspect. We can no longer continue like this. There is a hidden aspect in these murders. We are being debated negatively owing to these cruelties and it is the duty of our security agents to give us the answers,” Mr Nyutu said.

He observed “hardly do we hear about any suspects bring arrested after those murders hence shining a spotlight on how area Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) that is tasked with cracking down serious crimes, works”.

He added that area sleuths are notorious of documenting murder scenes but with no court cases to prove hard work. 

"Let us start with the July  18, 2020 murder of eight year old girl from Mahiga-ini village in Maragua constituency who was found buried in a shallow grave. The suspect who neighbours had delivered to Maragua police station escaped custody under mysterious circumstances and has never been rearrested. We can safely accuse our DCI of dereliction of duty since many more murders have remained unresolved," Mr Nyutu said.

Mr Nyutu said the area is home to some officers who have served for over five years hence becoming part of the cartels that disturb security.

"The government has been announcing that such officers will be moved to eradicate familiarity with and indoctrination into, criminal networks. Yet, not only in Maragua, the county is home to officers who have served one station for over five years," he said.

Mr Nyutu wondered why some officers get transferred but within weeks get their way back into their former stations to serve in the same capacity.

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who attended the burial ceremony of the four(4) kids who died in the mysterious Gakoigo fire had interesting news for Maragua people.

He said that during his tenure at the National Security Council, the murders in the area were being debated in almost all sittings with area security bosses being pressurised to work hard and bring perpetrators to book.

Mr Gachagua said "unless all those murderous characters are arrested and charged in court, sanctity of life in the area will remain trashed...it is nauseating to hear that the security agents are yet to get their act together regarding Maragua security".

Murang'a South Deputy County Commissioner Mr Gitonga Murungi told us that "these crimes will be arrested, mark my word and serious ground work has just started".

He said "we have since held strategy meetings and our message to all criminals is that we must clash at some point and those to suffer consequences are not us in the side of law, it must be the outlaws".

Mr Murungi urged residents to back down from tendencies that appear to sympathise with thugs"