A 40-year-old man from Cafteria Gatanga Sub-county is crying for justice after he was allegedly brutally assaulted by five members of the local ‘Nyumba Kumi’ community policing team.
According to the family, Samuel Karari is “lucky to be alive” after the September 14th incident that left him with multiple fractures, internal injuries, and months of immobility.
Karari and his colleagues had spent the day working in a tea plantation applying manure.
Later that evening, he passed by the local shopping centre, where a brief scuffle broke out between him and his friend; a young man over a plate of githeri.
Members of the public quickly intervened, and to avoid further trouble, Karari walked away to his home unaware of the tragedy that would follow him that very day.
Hours later, at around 10pm, as he prepared his supper, he heard a knock on his door and five men stormed in before he could respond.
“They threw me to the ground and started beating me with kicks and blows,” he recalls. “One hit me on the head with a metal rod and at that moment, I knew I might not survive,” he narrated.
The attackers dragged him outside and continued beating him. Karari says he recognized all his attackers as they were no strangers to him.
His screams and cries for help alerted his niece, Eunice Wambui, who rushed out of the house.
“I found them beating him while he lay on the ground bleeding begging for his life,” she said.
“I asked why they were doing that and one of them said they were ‘disciplining him.’ They kept hitting him until I screamed loudly, and they fled,” she said.
Family members identified the attackers as Nyumba Kumi members from the area—one of whom is reportedly the father of the young man involved in the earlier scuffle at the shopping centre.
Karari sustained fractures in his hand, leg, ribs, and severe soft-tissue injuries. He was admitted to hospital for weeks and now has a metal plate inserted in his leg. He remains bedridden and fully dependent on caregivers.
His brother and primary caregiver Douglas Njuguna says justice has been elusive despite reporting the incident immediately at Kirwarwa Police Station.
“The hand was broken, the leg was broken, he lost the use of a finger, and he had other serious injuries,” he said.
“We rushed him to hospital and started treatment, but it has been very difficult. We depend on well-wishers. He uses diapers. He cannot walk, cannot bathe himself, and cannot go to the washroom without help,” he said.
Njuguna says he has been forced to stay home as a full-time caregiver, leaving the family without income.
He adds that when he confronted one of the alleged attackers, the man dismissed him, claiming they were “untouchable.”
Residents who protested the assault allege they were later threatened by the same Nyumba Kumi members.
Reached for comment, Gatanga Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Damaris Kimondo confirmed that the matter has been escalated through the security channels and was under active investigation.
“We are aware of the allegations, and the case has been escalated from the sub-location and location levels,” she said.
“Whoever is found responsible will face the criminal justice system and I assure you that the victim will get justice,” she said.
The DCC added that the sub-county security team had classified the matter as a serious assault case involving individuals entrusted with community security. “I have taken the case personally. Investigations are ongoing,” she stated.
As Karari continues his long and painful recovery, his family insists their only request is simple: that the law takes its course and that justice is delivered without further delay.
By Florence Kinyua
