This archive report was first published on 5 November 2019.
On Tuesday morning, police in Mombasa, Kenya, arrested 14 youths and a woman believed to be members of the notorious Wakali Chee machete-wielding criminal gang.
The arrests followed a dawn raid on four of their hideouts in the Nyali Constituency, where police confiscated seven machetes and three knives.
The raid was prompted by a tip-off of an imminent attack on residents in the area.
The leader of the group was among those arrested, and police are continuing to hunt for other members who escaped the crackdown.
A woman, identified as the mother of one of the suspects, was also apprehended as she tried to block the arrest of her son.
According to Nyali OCPD Simon Thirikwa, the police are tightening loopholes to prevent the rebirth of criminal gangs that have terrorized residents in Mombasa County.
Since the arrest of several youths from the infamous Wakali Kwanza criminal group in August, no major criminal incident has been reported in the county.
The suspects are currently being detained at the Nyali Police Station as investigations continue.
