Independent Journalist and Blogger Clinton Machuki gets Robbed and Severely Assaulted by 6 Armed Men at Kware area Nairobi

Independent freelance journalist Clinton Moracha Machuki was brutally assaulted and robbed by an armed gang in Nairobi’s Kware area on Friday evening, raising urgent questions over escalating insecurity and systemic police negligence in the locality.

The incident occurred on August 28, 2026, at approximately 7:00 PM as Machuki was commuting home from an assignment in Donholm. Machuki, a self-made journalist who has built a reputation over the last three years for his neutral, text-based news reporting, was carrying essential work equipment, including his laptop, smartphone, and cash.

According to account details, the journalist was ambushed by six men armed with machetes (pangas). The assailants violently assaulted Machuki, inflicting severe physical injuries and bruises. Under threat of violence, the gang forced him to surrender his smartphone pattern, M-Pesa mobile money PIN, and bank account credentials before commanding him to flee the scene.

Following the attack, Machuki sought immediate assistance at the nearby Kware Police Station at 7:56 PM. Despite his visible injuries and urgent condition, the officer on duty reportedly forced him to wait while finishing a cup of coffee. Due to the lack of immediate medical or legal response at the station, Machuki had to rush to Mission Care Hospital in Pipeline for emergency medical treatment.

When Machuki returned to the Kware Police Station the following morning to follow up, officers declined to issue an Official Book (OB) number. Instead, he was advised to borrow a phone and contact Safaricom independently to freeze his mobile lines. Seeking alternative legal recourse, Machuki traveled to the Donholm Police Station, only to be turned away and referred back to the Kware jurisdiction, leaving the case unrecorded.

The Kware area remains under intense scrutiny following the 2024 excavation of bodies tied to suspected serial killer Collins Jumaisi, who subsequently escaped police custody and remains at large. Local residents have long complained about the Kware Police Station, which sits just meters from the infamous quarry, alleging widespread institutional corruption, bribery, and complicity with local gangs. Community members claim that rising gang activity is actively enabled by rogue elements within the local police force.

No arrests have been made in connection with the assault, and Machuki’s stolen journalistic tools and funds have not been recovered.