Nyeri Town, known for it’s ever booming business and farming activities is truly an economic hub for the country. It is considered to be one of the Country’s food baskets.
News of a terrorist attack at Dusit once again put the County on the spotlight but this time for all the wrong reasons. One of the Key perpetrators of the heinous act was apparently residing in the area.
Police raided Salim Ali Gichunge alias Farouk’s house in Guango estate, Ruaka, on Wednesday where they believe the attack was planned. Farouk was positively identified through his fingerprint samples presented to the Registrar of Persons.
Located between Nyeri’s Central Business District and King’ong’o area in Nyeri town, the sprawling Majengo slum is one of the most densely populated areas in the town and home to some of the poorest people.
Most residents are casual labourers.
The area harbours dangerous criminals, bhang peddlers, prostitutes, illicit brewers and contraband goods peddlers.
It is believed that goods stolen in the town and environs are stashed in the slum while criminals take shelter in Majengo.
As a result, it is usually the first target whenever there is a security crackdown. It is believed that some of the people felled by police bullets after the killing of Kamakwa chief Peter Kimiti came from the area. He was killed on July 26 last year.
The operation was ordered by Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and it also affected Kamakwa area on the outskirts of Nyeri town.
Though the area is densely populated, people know each other well and strangers are easily spotted and monitored.
This could be why the area is a safe haven for criminals on the run.
There have been reports that radicalisation could also be taking place there as residents are highly secretive.
Houses are cheap and made of low-quality off-cuts. They rent for as little as Sh500 per month.
Due to the high rate of poverty, people are readily available and easily manipulated by politicians and activists as criminals and demonstrators for hire.
“With only Sh200 per person per day, you can easily get demonstrators for hire here as there are so many idlers,” one Nyeri resident says.
In May last year, Nyeri police arrested terrorism suspect believed to have sneaked into the country from Somalia and heightened security surveillance in Nyeri following reports that Nyeri could be a target of terror.
Detectives are said to have been tracking the suspect’s movement.
Nyeri town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu said the news that one of the suspects spent time in the area, which is in his constituency, came as a surprise to him.
“It was something that we never expected,” he told the Star on the phone.
He said together with security officials, they will organise a security baraza with young people in a week to talk about the issue.“This is something that we are going to engage with the community as leaders. We will call the community and especially the people from Majengo and we are going to talk about it,” he said.