Kenya’s James Bond: Patrick Shaw
Patrick Shaw was a police reservist who also worked as an administrator at Starehe Boys Centre. It is reported that he was the most feared police officer in Kenya. He was the son of a London doctor. He had migrated to Nairobi in 1955 to work as an agricultural Officer. In 1971 he became a Kenyan citizen.
Patrick Shaw was associated with many shootouts and car chases in Nairobi. He had a huge network of informers who included prostitutes and pimps.
Whenever a bank robbery happened, he was always the first one on site. He would arrive with his car and a gun to deal with the robbers. He never shied away from such dangerous incidents.
Favorite Car
Pat Shaw always drove a custom-made cream Mercedes Benz. The car was fitted with a police radio and a specially designed seat that allowed him to tilt and sleep. It is reported that Shaw slept for very few hours because of a condition called glandular disorder.
Obesity
Patrick Shaw was overweight. He was giant but very fast when it came to chasing thieves in Nairobi streets. Pat spent most of his nights and days year after year patrolling the streets of Nairobi. He was very accurate in his work. He either captured or killed his targets.
Hobbies
Patrick Shaw was always out hunting thieves or robbers, otherwise he loved reading FBI manuals and posters of wanted criminals as he relaxed in his car. Some of his friends said that Patrick Shaw memorized the penal code.
Family Life
Patrick Shaw never married. The other thing he never did was taking vacations. He occasionally traveled to England to visit his family members. Even then he used to spent most of his time mobilizing resources for Starehe Boys Center.
Popularity
Pat Shaw was very popular in Nairobi Streets. He was always cheered whenever his car was spotted in the streets. People had memorized his car licence number: KFH 845.
Member of Kenya Police Reserve
It is amazing that Pat Shaw was not a regular police officer but a proud police reservist. That notwithstanding, the whole police force admired his work.
At one time, a Member of Parliament complained about a European who was basically controlling the Kenya Police Force. The Minister of Justice at that time responded and asked the MP to stop criticizing Pat Shaw.
Pat Shaw’s critics believes that he was a hired gun or even a vigilante. He had an extensive network of informers who were mostly blacks.
In 1977, Pat Shaw declared a legend as a result of his work. Two years later, a notorious Ugandan criminal murdered members of a family in Nairobi city. Pat was the first one to arrive on the scene. He actually arrived before the murderer left. The gangster show Pat on the shoulder. This happened because he did not have his gun with him. Since that day, he made sure he walked around with his gun.
His gun
Patrick Shaw’s favorite gun was a .38. He later adopted a 9 mm Beretta automatic. Pat’s activities were rarely highlighted in the media apart from a few instances. In November 1986, the Nation Newspaper reported how Shaw chased two thieves in Nairobi’s downtown.
Pat Shaw died in 1988. Pimps, prostitutes and prominent members of the police force attended his funeral services.
Patrick Shaw was our fashion of James Bond.
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