From Armed Gangster To Legal Advisor – Meet Rahab Ngige

She was a gangster, whose 40 days ultimately ran out – forcing her to serve time in prison. It is during the time she was locked up that her life took a turn for the better. Rahab now works as a legal advisor and active campaigner against crime. Here is her story:

Rahab rebelled against her parents and dropped out of school. To date, she does not know why she did it.  She relocated to a different town and took on living independently.

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She soon became a wife and even enrolled for an Early Childhood Education and Development (ECDE) course, managing to secure an internship at a nearby school.

It was during a visit to a friend that she got introduced to a man with whom she formed with a good relationship. The man was introduced as the owner of a local butchery. His lifestyle, however, seemed to be more lavish than what the butchery could sustain.

Job Offer

After knowing each other for a while, Rahab got a call from this man, asking her if she was interested in a job. No more details were given and as she was jobless, she took up this opportunity.

They met up and this is the day her life in crime begun. She was given ATM cards and a list of PIN numbers with instructions to clean up the accounts. She came back with Ksh100,000 and was given her cut of Ksh40,000, an amount she had tried working over six months for at the school she interned at. She quit the ECDE attachment.

She was soon informed that she was ready to ‘graduate,’ a term she did not understand, then. She was introduced to three other men, and together they formed a gang.

Full-Time Gangster

Her first job was a carjacking that Rahab says went smoothly – no one got hurt or caught. Many more of these followed.

Their services were mostly outsourced by company employees, security guards, domestic workers and even wives. For such, they had planned meetings, pre-job visits and negotiation of their cuts.

Rahab and the gang stole for four years without ever getting caught. During this time, she got access to more money than she had ever dreamed of.

Falling In Love

She fell in love with a young University of Nairobi student and recruited him into the gang. As a way of calming her conscious for recruiting a promising young man into crime, Rahab encouraged him to stay in school.

Trap

One day they heard gunshots rant the air and everyone had to escape. Her boyfriend was arrested and was later released after paying bail. She set up a meeting with him and the other gang members; it was a trap they had walked right into.

She appeared in court and pleaded not guilty, and was remanded at Lang’ata Women’s Prison.

Empowered

“I thank God for the work being done by Kituo Cha Sheria in Kenyan prisons. They empowered me with knowledge and skills about the law to the extent where I dropped my lawyer and represented myself. After successfully consolidating my cases, I reduced my time to six years, four of which I spent in remand.”

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At first, she was rebellious and traded contraband. This is until a new officer in charge joined the prison. This officer befriended her, believed in her and gave her responsibilities, even ensuring she got a spot in the prison’s mentorship program.

After a one-month training, Rahab changed her ways, surrendered her contrabands, and later enrolled for a short course in baking. She also learned about the law and successfully helped fellow inmates to draft their appeals and argue their cases favorably.

After her release, she was offered a job by the Africa Prisons Project as a result of her positive impact in prison. She now works for the organization as a legal advisor and an active campaigner against crime. For extra income, she takes orders for cakes.

“I do not have the tons of money anymore but my life is meaningful now. I have peace of mind and I feel that I got a second chance in life. Most importantly, I learnt to hate crime, not just fear it. That is the message I preach today; hate crime.”