•Hessy is said to be working with a team of five other officers, known in the area as Pangani Six.
•Susan Njeri, the mother of Kamindo, told the Star his son's body was riddled with bullets in the head, chest and hands.
Image: VICTOR IMBOTO
He was brought up by a single mother and began street life at the age of four. Hardship, crime and police brutality are all familiar marks of his life.
James Kariuki, not his real name, has lived in Mlango Kubwa, Mathare slums all his life.
Sniffing gum, snatching people's properties and violent muggings became his norms. He even declined to go to school when his mum tried to force him into it.
"The street is a jungle, my friend. People there are quite rough," he said, as he narrated his story to the Star on Thursday. His errant habits put him at crossroads with local crime busters who control the area with an iron grip, using force and killings as the only tools of maintaining order.
The 16-year-old told the Star he quit crime four years ago and got into the business of garbage collection.
But this still does not guarantee him peace, thanks to an AP officer who covers the Eastleigh and Mathare areas, popularly known as Ahmed Rashid. We could not independently verify if that is the officer's real name.
He is said to be working with a team of five other officers, known in the area as Pangani Six.
"Many of us young people are not able to sit in the open resting even after work, hiding from Rashid. When he sees you, he marks you out," the young man said.
"I quit crime and reformed. I'm known by small-scale businesswomen in the area as the garbage collector. But I cannot do it freely because the hessy has instilled fear here," he added.
This is how he killed Ben Ben, he said, referring to Benard Kamindo, a 15-year-old who was gunned down in cold-blood allegedly by Rashid on Tuesday in the area.
Kariuki, who said he was friends with Kamindo, said his life is threatened because even after reforming and engaging in lawful activities, they are not guaranteed tomorrow. He says the AP officer has marked him out.
Susan Njeri, the mother of Kamindo, told the Star his son's body was riddled with bullets in the head, chest and hands.
She said his son quit crime three years ago and now sold boiled eggs on a trolley in the streets.
"Why not arrest them and imprison them for life rather than kill them. Ben had a bright future because I know with his hard work, he could have gone far," the mother said, adding that “I was not warned, yet Rashid warns the parents of the men he is to execute.”
Witnesses said the no-nonsense officer broke into the teenager's house and ordered him to wake up before covering his face with a Maasai shuka and dragging him out.
"They beat him up before ordering him to kneel down and shot him multiple time, maybe 15 times," said Sharon Njeri, a neighbour of Kamindo.
"What is the role of jails if bullets are the ones that can finish crime?" Said an agitated Maria Kamau, an aged woman who said she was the landlady of the fallen young man.
Independent Police Oversight Authority yesterday announced it has commenced investigations into the circumstances that led to the summary executions.