Tag: Kiambu County news

Kiambu County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha has announced a ban on “Park and Chill” events, a popular trend among young Kenyans involving roadside parties in tea plantations. Citing concerns over alcohol consumption, drug use, and potential safety issues, Nkanatha made the announcement during the 60th Jamhuri Day celebrations.

Cracking Down on Unlicensed Parties:

• The new directive targets gatherings where young people drive out from Nairobi to Kiambu’s Limuru and Githunguri regions, set up DJ equipment, and engage in alcohol and potentially illegal activities.
• Nkanatha emphasized the lack of permits for such roadside gatherings and the involvement of substances like sheesha, bhang, and drugs.
• Partnerships with the county government will ensure stricter enforcement of alcohol licensing regulations, targeting unlicensed consumption.

Festive Season Security Measures:

• Recognizing the upcoming Christmas season, Nkanatha has recalled all police officers on leave for increased patrols. This aims to prevent illegal alcohol and drug sales, as well as to ensure general safety for residents.
• He encourages residents to inform neighbors of their travel plans during the holidays to deter potential theft.

Leadership and Community Involvement:

• Nkanatha urged all leaders, both uniformed and civilian, to actively combat the issues of alcoholism, drug abuse, and illegal activities like transformer theft. He highlighted the importance of community vigilance in reporting suspicious behavior.

A chilling tragedy has struck the Witeithie area of Juja, Kiambu County, where a 10-year-old boy has fallen prey to a pack of marauding hyenas. This incident marks the latest in a disturbing series of attacks that have instilled fear and anxiety among the local community.

Residents have been living in a state of constant apprehension, restricting their movements outside their homes, particularly during the evening, late at night, and early morning hours, out of fear for their safety and the safety of their children. The threat posed by these wild animals has even forced parents to keep their children home from school.

Determined to take action, residents have pledged to work in groups to eliminate these menacing creatures. However, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) wardens have intervened, proposing a more humane approach by driving the hyenas away and finding a long-term solution.

The tragic events unfolded on Saturday evening when the 10-year-old boy, a Grade Four pupil at Highway Primary School, was walking with three friends. As they made their way home, they were confronted by a charging clan of hyenas.

The boy’s friends managed to escape, leaving him at the mercy of the predators. His blood-stained clothes were later discovered in a nearby bush by quarry workers on Sunday morning, leading to the recovery of his mutilated remains.

The police were immediately alerted to the crime scene and proceeded to collect the scattered body parts left behind by the hyenas. The identity of the victim was not immediately disclosed.

KWS personnel have been deployed to the area, vowing to track down the hyenas and drive them back to their natural habitat within the nearby Ol-Donyo Sabuk Game Reserve.

Unfortunately, such attacks are not uncommon in this region. In September of last year, a similar fate befell a nine-year-old boy who was mauled to death by a pack of hyenas.

Earlier this year, a 35-year-old man from Athi village narrowly escaped a savage attack by eight hyenas. Prior to that, two more incidents involving hyena attacks were reported in Witeithie village and Thika Constituency, respectively.

In response to the escalating tensions and growing concerns among residents, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Juja has urged the community to exercise caution while they work towards finding an amicable solution to this pressing issue.

A videographer was drugged and robbed in Thika, Kiambu County, on July 29, 2023.

Henry Ng’ang’a Maina said he was hired by a woman named Margaret Wangui Kibathi to film a birthday party. He was taken to a house in the Ngoingwa area, where he was served tea that made him feel weak and sleepy.

When he woke up, his bag was gone. It contained his Canon 80d camera, 18-135 camera lens, a Techno Spark 8p cell phone, batteries, charger, memory cards, and other job-related materials.

The caretaker of the house, who found Maina unconscious, said the house had been rented for two days by Wangui.

The matter was reported to the police, who are investigating the incident.

A man is wanted by police in Ngewa, Kiambu County, after he allegedly stabbed his estranged wife to death during a quarrel.

The suspect, who has been identified by the police only as HK, stormed a construction site where the woman, Ms Phylis Ngina Gachohi, was working on Sunday evening. He dragged her to a nearby coffee farm and stabbed her to death.

The police said that the suspect had removed a makeshift ladder to the upper floors of the building before he committed the crime, in an attempt to prevent other masons from reaching the scene.

However, the masons managed to follow the couple to the crime scene, where they found Ms Ngina’s body. They immediately informed the police, who arrived and took away the body. The police are still searching for the murder weapon.

In a separate incident, a one-year-old baby died in a fire in Kangemi, Nairobi County, on Sunday morning. The fire also destroyed property of unknown value.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but the police have launched investigations. Area residents who spoke to Nairobi News said that they tried to put out the fire, but their efforts were in vain.

One resident, a boda boda rider, complained that the police took too long to arrive at the scene.

“We really tried to put out the fire, but all our efforts were in vain. The police also took long to arrive here,” he said.

Two bodaboda drivers in Kiambu County were left speechless after they placed what they believed to be illegal fuel in the tanks of their motorcycles but afterwards realized it was a jug of juice.

The Taifa Leo daily reported that after buying the liquid that had been diluted with juice and passed off as pure gasoline, the boda boda drivers lost 2,000 Shillings.

Taifa Leo reported the matter as follows:

“Waathiriwa hao walikutana na watu watatu waliokuwa wamebeba vibuyu viwili vya lita kumi-kumi wote wakiabiri pikipiki moja eneo la Bypass Ruiru katika barabara kuu ya Thika. Hivyo vibuyu vilikuwa vinaonekana kana kwamba vimejazwa pomoni ikawa rahisi kuwaamini,”

According to the two Bodabodas, the exorbitant cost of oil forced them to hunt for illegal oil, but it didn’t work out for them. The bottle’s price per liter was Sh100.

At the majority of gas stations in the area, the cost of gasoline is currently Sh195. The bodaboda drivers claim that they hurriedly fled after purchasing the fuel because they thought it was a smuggling operation and the transaction needed to be completed right afterwards, according to Taifa Leo.

According to the victims, the con artists appeared to be working at a garage or a gas station because of the clothing they were wearing.

Numerous boda boda drivers who work on the Thika Superhighway in the counties of Nairobi and Kiambu have cautioned their coworkers to be cautious, despite the fact that it has been discovered that they did not report this occurrence to the police station.