Notorious Kwekwe squad blamed for Jacob Juma shooting

The story of Kwekwe Squad, the most notorious crack unit to ever have been formed in Kenya, is back in the spotlight after allegations that its officers shot dead businessman Jacob Juma.

In a twist of fate, the unit has become a classic case of the hunter becoming the hunted.

This week, while responding to claims by Cord leader Raila Odinga that Kwekwe officers killed Mr Juma, National Police Service Spokesperson George Kinoti said the squad does not even exist.

In its heyday, the squad was said to have been as good as other crack units of its kind in other countries, including the Bope of Brazil, Grupo Especial De Operaciones of Spain, Juglas of Colombia and the US Marshals Service.

Before disbandment, the squad left behind a legacy of murders, missing millions of shillings, scared businessmen, intimidated police officers, maimed suspects and lingering questions about hundreds of men who turned up dead after crossing the paths of the dreaded unit.

Before the unit was turned into an unofficial “cleaner squad” for the government, its members had been involved in responding to the Mungiki menace — a task they took on with uncommon zeal.

To the victims of the Mungiki sect, Kwekwe officers were legendary heroes.

To those they targeted, the Kwekwes were not only dishonourable members of the police force who should never have been law enforcement officers but a fearsome unit that executed its mandate ruthlessly.

For instance, investigations by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) connected Kwekwe Squad to almost 500 bodies deposited in various mortuaries around the country by the police between June and October 2007. Their victims included a police officer and two soldiers.

Between July 2002 and September 2008, the Oscar Foundation — an NGO — documented over 8,000 forced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and extra-judicial executions, all linked to the squad.

The NGO’s founder, Oscar King’ara, and his associate, Paul Oulu, were themselves executed less than a kilometre from State House in broad daylight.

The gunmen were suspected to be Kwekwe Squad members.

KWEKWE SQUAD FALL FROM GRACE

However, it is not the high numbers that shocked most but the manner in which the suspects met their death. Many of them were bludgeoned, mutilated or drowned.

Later on, members of the squad are said to have been tasked with hunting down terror suspects and hard-core criminals.

But when their brand of rough justice was no longer seen as useful or desirable, the squad’s spectacular fall from grace started.

One of them was to be charged with murder and sentenced to hang; others were suspended from the police force and left disgraced; the majority have died in mysterious circumstances and their deaths have never been investigated.

The real names of the squad’s officers and their exact number has never been officially known.

However, press interviews point to a unit of between 10 to 12 officers many of whom were known by their nicknames.

Those involved in its formation or who were part of it include Dickson Munene Mwangi, Zebedeo Maina, John Kariuki, John Gitahi, Bernard Kiriinya, Reche Nyagah, Richard Katola, John Njoroge and Kimatu Kyule Kisoloki. The others were identified by their nicknames; Kimang’a, Mainye, Muthee, Foiyo/Boiyo, Tyson and Lang’at.

On August 3, 2013, the unit’s head, Chief Inspector Zebedeo Maina, was shot dead in Kitui Town where he was with a group of detectives allegedly pursuing kidnappers.

At least two of Maina’s drivers died in mysterious circumstances while another, Constable Justus Wendot, is in prison facing murder charges. He is accused of killing Maina.

Wendot, who is out on bail, has denied killing his boss, claiming he is the victim of a cover-up.

In early 2015, Kisoloki turned his gun on himself in his house in Dadaab, where he was the director of criminal investigations.

According to an Incidence Report prepared by Inspector James Kagwai, Kisoloki shot himself in the head using a Ceska pistol.

In April 2008, Sergeant Gitahi was shot during an operation against Mungiki in Banana, Kiambu.

Although it is claimed that he was accidentally shot by his colleagues, investigations suggest that the allegation might be far from the truth.

Against protocol and procedure, his death was not recorded at the local police station, making it impossible to open an investigation file as required by law.

Gitahi’s wife, who had vowed to follow up on his killing, was found dead a year later under unclear circumstances.

In October the same year, Kiriinya — who had served as Maina’s official driver — was gunned down my members of Kwekwe outside Sarit Centre.

He had betrayed his former colleagues by spilling the beans on their activities.

After his death, his colleague, Chief Inspector John Kariuki, survived two attempts to poison him.

However in 2011, after enjoying a meal at his house in Buru Buru, he bid his family goodnight and went to sleep, never to wake up again.

The same year, Reche Nyagah, who had served as head of Flying Squad and was known to be fit as a fiddle suddenly developed liver complications. The teetotaller died while undergoing treatment.

Similarly, in 2011, Katola was rushed to hospital by his family who claimed that he had been poisoned.

He suffered a stroke and remained in hospital until his death last year.

After a public outcry in November 2009, the then minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security, Prof George Saitoti, told Parliament that the Kwekwe Squad had been disbanded.