4 GIRLS RAPED, SHOPS LOOTED IN MAKONGENI NIGHT OF TERROR
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| The flat that houses the electronic shop that was looted by the arsonist |
As our team was gathering the bits of what had transpired in the night of Sunday morning, we were met with narratives of some four girls who had been working in a neighbouring hotel being gang raped by the Madaraka Market arsonists. It is alleged that the girls were asleep in nearby rooms after retiring from the previous night's work when they were suddenly woken up by police hurling tear gas canisters to the traders at around 2:00am.
Out of fear, they stayed indoors until when the got choked by the cloud of smoke emanating from the burning market. When they could not hold it longer, and with the fear of the fire spreading into the house they were in, the girls decided to rush out fo seek safety elsewhere. On arrival to the ground floor, they came face to face with the hired goons who decided to 'make a meal of them'. They were raped in turns after having their clothes tore in pieces, before they were let go stack naked.
One of them is said to have been seriously harmed and was at dawn Sunday Morning taken to Thika Level 5 Hospital.
In another incident on the opposite side of the market, the youth who were used to torch the market broke into a gas cylinder container and stole several cylinders before the owner, a certain Wa Esther caught up with them. As she tried to force them return her cylinders, one of the boys stabbed her on the palm and ran into the thin air.
An electronic shop on the same lane was also broken to and flat screen TVs plus other electronics stolen. Several boutiques and mtumba vibandas were also stolen since by the time their owners arrived to salvage their wares, they found their kiosks looted.
Most of these looters were sai to run in the direction of Makongeni's Phase 8, just past St Matia Mulumba Catholic Church, with a few said to have gone with their loot into the county government trucks that were waiting to ferry them awy to safety.
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