12 arrested over mugging and robbery in Diani – DCI
Police officers have arrested 12 individuals believed to be involved in the recent spate of robberies and gang activity in Diani, Kwale County.
In a statement on Friday, March 28, 2025, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) indicated that while the other members of the violent gangs are still at large, the 12 will be processed for arraignment.
“In their efforts to restore order, law enforcement agencies in the coastal region have intensified operations aimed at neutralizing machete-wielding gangs responsible for a series of violent attacks, looting, and interference with the peace of residents and business owners in Kwale and surrounding areas,” DCI noted.
Intensified crackdown
“Investigative interviewing on the suspects who are currently being processed for arraignment has provided leads to more notorious members that are still at large, and thus the crackdown has been intensified with more units being dispatched.
The 12 persons arrested during the operation to weed out the mostly juvenile criminal gangs terrorizing the area include Rajab Hamisi Dele, Aliphan Yusuf, Soud Mwariga Abdalla, Isaya Wanyama Simiyu, Eagan Jason Ndiwa, Ndaro Mzungu Ndaro, Saidi Ali Tengeza, Ali Abdalla Mwagula, Athman Ramadhan Mwachibuyu, Suleiman Mohammed Suleiman, Gilbert Obiero, and Emmanuel Erri.
The arrests come just days after the Coast Regional Police Commander Ali Nuno sounded a stern warning to the criminal gangs in the popular tourist town to cease their activities or face the full force of the law.
In his statements, Nuno equally cautioned parents of the juvenile gangs, warning that they too would be arrested for failing to discipline their children.
“Spare the rod and spoil the child. Poor parenting has led to all these issues, and we must deal with them before it is too late,” Nuno said.
Nuno’s warning
Nuno, who was the Kwale County Police commander before being promoted to the regional commander, also decried the laxity among police officers in reining in the recent spate of brazen robberies in the town.
“It cannot be that the gangs in Likoni and Mombasa are surrendering while 15-year-olds here in Diani are still on the rampage. This cannot happen,” Nuno said on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
Nuno, who has led operations to rid gangs from areas of the Kiandutu slums in Kiambu and Kayole in Nairobi, has promised to stem the recent spate of violent robberies in the coastal county.
The gangs operate in large groups in Diani, Ukunda and Kona ya Musa areas where they terrorise residents and businesspeople with crude weapons, including machetes.
So far, Nuno has transferred the Msambweni Sub-County police commander and the Diani police station commander as part of the efforts to pull the plug on the rising crime in the area.
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Arnold Ngure
General reporter with a bias for crime reporting, human interest stories and tech.
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