Boyles - 'Mr Shaw is not only one of the most famous men in EA, he is also - at something over six feet tall and well in excess of 300 pounds - one of the largest. Enjoys a low profile. ..... If success can be measured in terms of gossip - ... then Patrick Shaw is one of the men most likely to succeed in EA. ..... a policeman who they cannot kill ....... head of the Boy Scouts, working at Starehe Boys Centre ,,,,,,,,,,, came from the UK in 1955 during Mau Mau. 'Kenya's most dreaded cop'

Barnes Langata Cemetery, Nairobi - :Patrick David Shaw /4th Aug 1936 - 14th Feb 1988 / the helpless compassion / against evil valour

Old Africa nos. 43. 45. 46. 47. 4 articles by David Smith.

At the age of 18 in 1955 Shaw saw an ad in the London Times for positions as  agricultural officeers in Kenya. After joining Kenya’s police reserve in 1959, Shaw eventually moved to Nairobi where he worked for St John Ambulance and later Starehe Boy’s Centre as a school  administrator. (Allegedly Patrick Shaw was fired from St John for driving an ambulance without authorization and then crashing the vehicle). He became an administrator for Starehe Boys' Centre. Some of the students were referred to as ‘Shaw’s boys’ – students he would cater to but also use as spies. “He would take us to the slums like Eastleigh and Kibera and ask us to spy for him in the bars and restaurants. He would tell us: ‘Go see if so and so is here. He looks like this.’ We would then report back and if the ID was positive he would call in the reserves and
surround the place.” Pat Shaw always travelled in a cream coloured
Volvo 511, which, like his weight, shooting and running ability and intelligence, became an embodiment of his persona. It is said that the
Volvo had been modified especially for him. It had a custom seat that he could lay back in, was fitted with a CB radio and a blue rooftop light. It was in his car that he spent most of his time in the evenings reading FBI manuals. Shaw spent most of his spare time driving around the worst neighbourhoods looking for criminals and maintaining an aura of omnipresence in the criminal world. Another distinguishing attribute of Patrick Shaw was his sheer size. Hosts who catered Shaw at their homes preferred that he sit on couches rather than chairs. “He was so enormous that on flights he always brought with him his own seat
belt,” one acquaintance remembers. Despite his huge size, colleagues and witnesses described him as being lightening fast on his feet and able to run down and tackle suspects. He could clear the sidewalk by simply stepping out of his car.

Shaw used street boys, also known as ‘Parking Boys,’ as spies in his network and he brought many into the Centre to be reformed. Besides using them to assist him in his police work and as spies, Shaw encouraged suitable students to enlist in the police, especially those who did not qualify for college. These former students would become integrated into the Nairobi’s ‘Flying Police’ nicknamed ‘Mr Shaw’s Flying School,’ recalls one former Nairobi resident.

Shaw used street boys, also known as ‘Parking Boys,’ as spies in his network and he brought many into the Centre to be reformed. Besides using them to assist him in his police work and as spies, Shaw encouraged suitable students to enlist in the police, especially those who did not qualify for college. These former students would become integrated into the Nairobi’s ‘Flying Police’ nicknamed ‘Mr Shaw’s Flying School,’ recalls one former Nairobi resident.

Shaw used street boys, also known as ‘Parking Boys,’ as spies in his network and he brought many into the Centre to be reformed. Besides
using them to assist him in his police work and as spies, Shaw encouraged suitable students to enlist in the police, especially those who did not qualify for college. These former students would become integrated into the Nairobi’s ‘Flying Police’ nicknamed ‘Mr
Shaw’s Flying School,’ recalls one former Nairobi resident. 

Involved in many extra-judicial shootings - he would shoot criminals on the spot.

It is difficult to estimate how many suspected gangsters Shaw gunned down. “Literally hundreds,” one acquaintance estimates. “At least one fatality a week.” But it was obvious to Shaw’s friends and colleagues that in the last months of his life Shaw’s health was deteriorating. On 14 February 1988, while visiting the house of a friend named David Rowe, Shaw’s heart failed. It is said he was reading a paper when he stood up  shouting and fell to his knees, his gun still in its holster. He was rushed to Nairobi Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was 52.