Mombasa DCIO Jacob Kinake during a past media briefing in his office. [Photo/ nation.co.ke]
Members of the Old Town Youth Gang which has been terrorising locals in the area have been asked to surrender to police.Mombasa Urban Criminal Investigations officer Jacob Kanake said the youth should surrender to the police in order to get assistance and advise on how to quit the criminal activities.Speaking at the urban police station in Mombasa on Friday, Kanake said already one of the gang members, Khalifa Mohammed Ahmed, surrendered to police on Friday though denied being a member of the gang.Accompanied by his mother Fatuma Mohammed Khalifa, Ahmed said he was a college student pursuing computer science at a Mombasa college and was shocked to see his photo being circulated by police.“When I reported to college this morning my colleagues did not want to be associated with me since I was rated the most wanted criminal. I decided to return home since the whole situation was unbearable,” he said.However, Kanake, refuted the claims saying Khalifa has two criminal cases pending at the Mombasa Law Court and his mother was only protecting him.“All in all, him surrendering to the police was a great move. We will interrogate him and reveal why he joined recruited the criminal gang before we assist him,” he said.Kanake said those who will not heed the police call will be pursued until they are netted and punished.“We understand the gang constitutes of Wakali Kwanza members originating from Kisauni. We will deal with these youth ruthlessly,” he said.He urged parents in Old Town, Bondeni and Majengo areas within Mombasa Island to surrender their kids who are engaging in criminal activities to the police.On Wednesday, police released photos of the 24 gang members who have terrorizing residents.