[pleasureseka]

Night of death:
Mysterious gang kills 20 in Nairobi
IN THIS STORY:
20 killed by gang of more than 200
Attack well orchestrated, lasted 20-30 minutes
Crude weapons used; pick axes, pangas
By MUGUMO MUNENE
Nairobi's Kariobangi north estate was this morning plunged into mourning following a night of death that left 20 residents brutally murdered by an armed street gang.

At least 27 other people were left fighting for their lives following the surprise attack visited on the estate on Sunday night.

The gang, estimated to be about 200, struck at the low-class estate's busiest street unannounced at about 8.30 pm and immediately began their orgy of destruction, mayhem and bloodletting.

They struck at a time when most residents would either be returning home or out shopping, making the street crowded and their target easy.

Victims and eyewitnesses said that the attackers spoke the same language and hacked to death anyone who could not respond to greetings in their language.

The gang completed their evil task in a span of 20 to 30 minutes and then melted into the alleys of the populous estate. It appeared from the speed and surprise elements of the attack that the attack was well orchestrated.

This morning, petrified shopkeepers, kiosk runners, taxi drivers, grocers and other residents caught in the wave of the shortlived but appalling violence stood in groups, speechless.

A taxi driver Mr Albanas Muema was waiting for customers at his usual spot at the Kamunde road shopping centre: "I was waiting for business in my cab at 8.30 pm when I heard of the violent movements outside. I was too terrified to move and actually thought that I was safe within my car. But a gang member smashed my window and violently pulled me out.

"They never spoke to me. They just attacked me ..... either with a panga or a pick axe ..... but I managed to slip away and run off to my relative's place in Huruma [neighbouring estate]," Mr Muema narrated his ordeal to the Nation.

Mr Josephat Kinuthia, a businessman who witnessed the bloodletting from the safety of his fourth floor apartment window said: "I saw very many people, numbering about 300. They all menacingly brandished pangas and pick axes as they went about their orgy. We did not know what it was. It was a terrifying sight to watch people being hacked to death. The sound of shattering glass filled the night. This morning, I decided against going to work so as to ensure that my relatives and friends living in this neighbourhood are all safe. Luckily I have been able to confirm that they are."

By the time police officers arrived, bodies were strewn all over the 500 metre Kamunde road. Most of the victims had their throats slit open and other parts of their bodies mutilated.

A most horrifying scene that police found was that of a dead man whose head had been cut off and thrown into a milk crate just yards away. Calm returned as police, led by the Kasarani police chief Francis Michieka kept watch until daybreak when reinforcement was sent in.

By yesterday morning, tension remained high as neighbours gathered in small groups discussing the night of terror.

Nairobi city police chief Geoffrey Muathe and his CID counterpart Godffrey Mutunga said that detectives had been detailed to invetigate the cause of the mayhem.

"We have brought in 300 officers and some more from the GSU to maintain calm. The CID have been detailed to investigate the cause of this mayhem; whether it is has to do with rent, politics or ethnicity," Mr Muathe said.

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