Veteran gospel musician James Ngaita Ngigi, better known as Jimmy Gait, has shared a chilling account of a near-death encounter with armed robbers. Speaking during a recent TikTok Live session, the “Muhadhara” singer described a brutal assault that took place on Sunday, February 22, 2026, around 10:00 a.m. in the upscale neighborhood of Runda.
A Brutal Confrontation
The ordeal began when two assailants overpowered the musician, using extreme force that Jimmy says left him suffocating and convinced his time had come.
“One guy was strangling me so hard I felt like I was dying. I was being suffocated and I used all my strength to struggle, while my fingers were already cut and bleeding profusely,” Jimmy recalled.
Adhering to safety advice he had heard previously, Jimmy avoided looking at the attackers’ faces to prevent them from feeling “recognized,” which often leads to more lethal outcomes. He pleaded for his life, offering all his belongings in exchange for safety. The robbers proceeded to snatch his phone and force him to surrender his M-Pesa PIN, emptying his accounts on the spot.
The Machete Ordeal
Despite his total compliance, the attackers remained determined to take his life. Jimmy described a traumatizing moment when one of the men produced a large machete from his jacket.
“He told me to position my neck properly because they wanted to kill me slowly,” Jimmy narrated. As he instinctively reached out to protect his throat, the blade sliced through his hand. “I grabbed the machete and it cut my thumb—it was hanging off, the cut went all the way around.”
A “Miraculous” Escape
In the depth of the trauma, Jimmy says he turned to his faith. He believes that calling out a specific name changed the atmosphere and saved his life.
“When I saw they were determined to kill me, I cried out ‘Jesus!’ The moment I called that name, they stopped hitting me. It was the name of Jesus that made them step back.”
The attackers eventually allowed him to flee, warning him not to look back. Jimmy ran while bleeding heavily until he could find help. He described the incident as the most traumatizing experience of his life, leaving him physically scarred and emotionally shaken.
Security Concerns in Runda
The attack on a high-profile figure in a supposedly “secure” suburb like Runda has sparked renewed concerns about daylight robberies in Nairobi’s affluent estates. Police have reportedly launched an investigation into the Sunday morning assault.