Agony of Murang'a villagers terrorised by axe-wielding burglar

Residents of Mbiri ward in Murang’a East subcounty, Murang’a County, are living in fear after a well-known thug pitched camp in their area, terrorising them.

The man, locally known as ‘Wagathanwa’ due to the fact that he arms himself with an axe, has been breaking into their homes, armed with a bottle filled with petrol.

He demands for money and mobile phones, threatening to burn down  houses if owners fail to surrender them.

Residents of Muthigiriri, Kamuiru, Kandundu and Kongo-ini areas describe him as a heavily built man who walks barefoot.

Mwangi Kamau, one of the victims, was just retiring to bed last Wednesday after a restful night watching tv at around 12.30am in his home in Kamuiru area.

Kamau however noted that his dog was barking relentlessly and  decided to check what was happening.

By the time he got to the sitting room, he found his son who had panicked, and who told him their home was under an attack by a gang of thugs.

He immediately switched on all his security lights only to see one heavily built man with his arm raised, ready to hit his window with an axe.

“He broke down my window but I did not run away. I challenged him to get into the house and fight me. Instead, he started throwing petrol into the house through the window that he had carried using a water bottle that had small holes at the top.”

“When I saw this, I quickly fetched water from a sink nearby and every time he spilt petrol into the house, I threw water onto it.”

His wife had by then alerted neighbours and when some of them came to the homestead, the attacker fled.

“If we get him, we will kill him and burn his body. They won’t even get any remains to take to the morgue,” he said, noting that the area, being on the outskirts of Murang’a town, has lately been attracting a high number of settlers.

Mercy Muthoni said her home was attacked a few weeks ago at 2am and that her family was woken up by the sound of window clutter.

The man, she said, broke the window grills with an axe and got into the house before they could establish what was happening.

He asked for money and Muthoni decided to give him the Sh50,000 she had kept in the house to construct a toilet.

“He had petrol that he threw into my face then proceeded to the bedroom where he spilt it on the bed threatening to burn my house. I just gave him the money so that he could leave my family alone."

Muthoni called upon security officers to apprehend the man and save residents from the agonising fear they are experiencing.

She said since then, they get scared every time they hear movements outside the house or banging noises.

Dennis Maina, a youth said they were asleep in his parents’ home at around 2am when the man started breaking the window to their sitting room.

By the time he left his bedroom to check what was happening, he found the man just slipping into the house through the window.

He immediately attacked him with an axe and hit him on the head. He grew faint, falling into a chair.

Maina said his family panicked and immediately gave the criminal money before rushing him to a hospital when the attacker left.

Yet another resident Anthony Wambugu, said the thug hit his window thrice with an axe and flipped the grills open early this month.

“He got in and demanded for money and mobile phones, then demanded that I take him to my car so he could ransack it.”

“As I led the way out, he hit me with an axe. He is a strong man and had a bottle containing petrol.”

Wambugu settled into his home last year and the attack traumatised his family, prompting him to relocate them back to a rental house in Murang’a town.

Maina said he does not intend to move back into his home until the man is arrested and his family healed of the trauma.

“The losses the attack has caused me are huge. He has cost me my five-year effort to settle my family in our home. I may not recover anytime soon. I come to my farm like a visitor during the day and leave.”

Area chief Charles Muna circulated the image of the burglar on social media asking residents to give information on his whereabouts.

"He is suspected to be hiding near Mathioya river. Any information about him will go a long way into helping to arrest him," the administrator said.