Extortion gang terrorising landowners in Mlolongo as police boss accused of protecting them

• A gang of young men allegedly stormed her property in a brutal confrontation over demands for security fees, leaving a trail of damage in their wake.

Landowners in Mlolongo are living in fear, accusing a gang of extorting up to Ksh.250,000 for “security” and other services.

Those who refuse to pay are reportedly attacked with machetes and knives, with homes left ravaged. Victims also accuse a former senior officer at Mlolongo Police Station of shielding the gang.

Five suspects have since been arrested.

What remains of Annette Mulinge’s home tells a story of violence and destruction.

A gang of young men allegedly stormed her property in a brutal confrontation over demands for security fees, leaving a trail of damage in their wake.

"The person they were taking commands from was carrying a gun, which made me realize that we were under attack. And it was happening during the day, actually it was around midday. I saw them start throwing stones, hitting windows, and smashing the glass of the house. I tried to plead with them, telling them they were hurting the child, but one of them told me, 'We are not just hurting you; we have come to kill you,' says Annette Mulinge, a landowner in Mlolongo.

Annette Mulinge is not alone. Jonathan Muli and others, who have requested anonymity, are still nursing injuries after they were allegedly attacked by the same gang.

"The motorbike was carrying three people. I don't know the driver, but I know those three. They caught up with me while I was talking on the phone and asked me, 'Mutomo, do you have a title deed to walk in Mulinge?' They told me, 'Today we will kill you. You are used to coming to Mulinge, but today we will kill you.' I asked them, 'Don't I have permission to come to my own place? Does someone walking here need a title deed to walk on their own land?' They told me, 'We will kill you.' They hit this hand—it hasn't even healed yet—and they hit me here until it split open, then I fell down and passed out,” Muli recalls.

The gang is accused of waging a campaign of violence and extortion across Mlolongo, Athi River, and Kitengela, with landowners alleging they are forced to pay hefty sums before developing their properties.

"You find that someone has been billed for a single 40 by 60 or 50 by 100 plot. You find a person who came and was sold a plot in a scheme—say they bought it for around 400,000—and then they are told they have to pay 380,000 for one plot just to build. On top of that, they have youth; for every plot, before you start anything, you must first give them 20,000 for 'development',” Joash Aming’a, the Community Policing Chairman, explains.

Residents claim the suspects are well known locally, raising questions over why the violence and extortion have continued.

Allegations have emerged that a former senior officer at Mlolongo Police Station shielded the gang, with victims claiming their reports of robbery and violence were ignored.

"We don't know what they did to the OCS who was there, Mugambi. He used to issue orders that no one should be prosecuted from Mulinge Scheme or Phase 4; if it is a case from Phase 4, they should go resolve it with their office," adds Aming’a.

According to Benard Mageto, "There is someone who calls himself Kama, who is an ex-policeman. He has his own group and is the leader of 'Panga Boyz.' He has a gang that slashes people; they are armed with machetes and hammers."

At Mlolongo Police Station, we were informed that six suspects had been arrested.

"There's somebody who disappeared from Mlolongo called Jimmy. Jimmy was now the patron, and they were taking people's land by force. You can't access it; it was so bad, before we were transferred to that place, people were not visiting their shambas. If you try to go, then you are assaulted, you are chased away, you are attacked,” Mlolongo John Owuoth says.

The onus is now on security agencies to track down those behind the alleged extortion and violence, probe claims of police protection, and ensure all those responsible face justice.