Eldoret, Kenya – Police in Eldoret are currently detaining four individuals suspected to be members of a criminal gang known as Death Nigger Association (DNA), which has been linked to a series of robberies in recent weeks. Among those apprehended are two schoolboys, aged 16 and 17 years, raising concerns about the involvement of minors in criminal activities.

According to police reports, the suspects are believed to be responsible for a wave of robberies and other criminal activities in Uasin Gishu and neighboring counties. The two teenagers in custody are students at a local secondary school within Uasin Gishu.

During a sting operation in Kingongo, a known crime hotspot on the outskirts of Eldoret, the gang's ringleader managed to evade capture. However, authorities later apprehended the suspects in Langas, Kapseret, following an extensive crackdown led by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and regular police units, under the command of Baharini OCS Abdi Hassan.

In addition to the gang members, police also arrested a woman, based on intelligence reports indicating that she had been harboring the suspected ringleader. Turbo DCIO Richard Okeri stated that members of the DNA gang have been terrorizing residents of Huruma, Kahoya, Kipkaren, and Shauri estates for the past two weeks.

Okeri noted that while the ringleader initially escaped arrest, he was later apprehended while seeking refuge in Langas estate, approximately six kilometers from the initial operation site. "The area County Police Commander had ordered for the immediate arrest of the gangs, and I can assure you, we are actively pursuing the ringleader of the criminal gang known as DNA and their accomplices. It is only a matter of time before we apprehend them," Okeri stated.

He added that officers are conducting their crackdown in areas where gang members, typically armed with crude weapons, are believed to attack innocent citizens at night. "This is a serious warning to both parents and their children: we will leave no stone unturned. These children should be in school. We cannot allow members of the gang, including minors, to wreak havoc in various estates within the county," Okeri emphasized.

Okeri further indicated that several informal settlement areas, including Huruma, Kingogo, Kidiwa, Munyaka, and Shauri, have become no-go zones at night due to the criminal activities perpetrated by the DNA gang. He also mentioned that the gang's actions have forced public and private schools in the affected areas to release students early, out of fear of attacks on their way home in the evening.

"We must address this issue with utmost seriousness because it involves school-going children. If we have already arrested two students, imagine how many more are involved in different schools. We cannot take this lightly; we are using the arrested individuals to gather more information," he stated.

These arrests come in response to a public outcry over the resurgence of criminal gangs controlled by young people in the area, prompting increased police action to restore safety and security.