"Wacucu, Wanugu": The notorious reign of Kenya's most feared bank robbers

In the 1990s, bank heists were not only rampant—they were practically a daily headline. For a dangerous breed of criminals, robbing financial institutions became a full-time economic activity, pursued with reckless abandon and brazen disregard for human life. These were no petty thieves; they were heavily armed professionals, determined to reap where they had not sown.

So alarming was this wave of crime that the Police Force was compelled to form an elite unit to match the escalating violence. Enter the Flying Squad—Kenya’s crack anti-robbery unit, built specifically to deal with the hardened street criminals who had turned cities into battlegrounds.

Armed with AK-47 assault rifles, these gangsters would storm into banks in broad daylight, sending terrified civilians diving for cover. The sound of gunfire—random bursts into the sky—was their calling card, a chilling warning to anyone who dared interfere. The objective was simple: get in, loot, and disappear in a cloud of dust, often aboard a getaway vehicle.

Not a single day would pass without these daredevils making a stunt at a bank and carting away millions of shillings. What would follow was a cat and mouse game with police, which gave prominence to the popular police line, “our officers exchanged fire with the robbers and a few were shot fatally”.

It was during this era that a trio of names struck terror into the hearts of bankers, police officers, and the public. They were Bernard Matheri, alias Wacucu, Anthony Ngugi Kana,i and Gerald Wambugu, better known as Wanugu. Occasionally joined by a fourth figure known only as “Rasta,” the trio became infamous between 1993 and 1997, leaving behind a bloody trail of heists, hijackings, and murder.

Their names were spoken with a mix of fear and fascination. Wacucu—Swahili for “son of a grandmother”—and Wanugu—loosely translating to “son of a monkey”—were particularly infamous. Rasta, known for his dreadlocked hair and chilling calm, was said to be the gang’s de facto leader. His ruthlessness and marksmanship were legendary; tales abound of him gifting an AK-47 to a girlfriend for her birthday. 

Alpha Romeo

The gang’s tools of trade were few but effective: assault rifles, stolen vehicles, alcohol, and women. They thrived on their notoriety, often living lavishly off their blood money. It is said Rasta could handle an AK-47 with such ease and speed that even the most seasoned officers feared him.

Their crime portfolio included armed robbery, carjacking, and contract killings. So dangerous were they that the then Police Commissioner Shadrack Kiruki, placed a bounty of Sh100,000 on information leading to their arrest—a staggering amount at the time.

Without the digital surveillance tools modern police forces enjoy, investigators relied on informants and physical tailing to track down the trio. But more often than not, the gang would slip through the net, sometimes allegedly tipped off by rogue elements within the police.

The gang’s reign of terror eventually met its match in the Alpha Romeo Squad, an elite offshoot of the Flying Squad, who rolled out in their iconic Peugeot 504 station wagons. Their street-hardened resolve and tactical prowess slowly turned the tide against the robbers.

The final chapters of Wacucu, Wanugu and Rasta were written in blood. Each died in gun battles with police—ironically felled by the very AK-47s they had wielded with such fatal confidence. Rasta, once untouchable, met his end in a hail of bullets, marking the end of Kenya’s most dangerous era of armed robberies.

Had the trio attempted similar crimes today, they wouldn’t have stood a chance. Advances in forensic science, surveillance technology, and real-time intelligence would have ensured their capture within days, if not hours.

Yet for a generation of Kenyans, their names still conjure memories of an era when gunshots echoed through city streets and a trip to the bank could turn into a brush with death.