Nairobi’s level of insecurity is rising due to an increase in shoplifting, carjacking, and burglaries by young people who are barely out of their teens. However, what many people don’t realize is that the individuals who are stabbing and mugging these victims are not your typical thugs from the slums who are driven to crime because they lack jobs. It is evident that a large number of these teenagers, including Thomas Warui Njoka, also known as Tomaso Gagula, are from affluent families. The late Tomaso Gagula, who was shot by police; his father, David Njoka, is a senior manager at the Ministry of Health; his mother, Catherine Njoka, works at Kenyatta University; and his uncle is a former Attorney General, making his case as a gangster send shockwaves through influential families in Kenya.
On August 15, 2014, Tomaso led his friends on a quest to frighten the residents of South C, which is how his demise began on that night in the South C suburb. They had no idea that what happened this evening would have tragic results. Their intended victim, a resident who was waiting for a family member to unlock the gate, had a grim start to his evening when Tomaso Gagula and his accomplices, armed with a gun, broke into the resident’s car and drove off in the direction of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Trapped between two attackers, the victim faced threats but amazingly escaped unscathed. Eventually, the car came to a stop and he was freed.
The victim went back to South C right away and informed the Lang’ata Police Station about the terrifying event. The fact that one of the culprits was none other than wealthy youngster Thomas Warui Njoka further added to the incident’s shocking nature. An investigator familiar with the case claims that Gagula’s family was apprised of Thomas’s unlawful activities on multiple occasions and made fruitless attempts to persuade him to change his ways or even relocate him out of the city. Unfortunately, Tomaso Gagula’s involvement in this carjacking incident and another incident where a matatu was hijacked led to his untimely demise.
The missing car that was used in the carjacking was discovered by one of the plainclothes police officers on patrol two days after the event, when it was parked at the Buruburu shopping center at 11:40 p.m. This time, the automobile contained three people, and the officers smartly decided to keep a careful eye on them rather than approach them right away. An hour later, the three men exited the car and went inside an ATM, but they were vigilant and were always glancing around. When they saw possible danger, two of the men were able to escape, but the third man—who was wearing a blue pair of pants and a red T-shirt—was not so lucky. As he tried to flee, he was shot and killed. 11 days remained before his 23rd birthday. The identity of the deceased suspect, Thomas Warui Njoka, also known as Tomaso Gagula, was quickly confirmed by the police. Tomaso had the potential to achieve in life, but instead, like many young people today, he chose to live a life of crime.