Informants recruited to help track muggers caught on camera
A man pleads for mercy after he was cornered by two of the five robbers whose pictures were published in the Daily Nation. Most of the muggers have gone underground following the media reports. Photos/FILE
Kenya police have enlisted informers in the hunt for vicious street gangs following a recent spate of muggings in Nairobi. At least 30 men have been arrested since the hunt started on the city streets three days ago.
However, five men whose photographs have been published in two past editions of the Daily Nation are yet to be arrested. The gang was captured on camera violently robbing a pedestrian on Kirinyaga Road on Monday.
The photos were part of an exposé on mugging, now a common crime on city streets.
Hunt gangs
Those arrested were held at the Central and Kamukunji police stations in which most such cases are reported daily.
One of the officers who has been deployed to hunt the gangs told the Nation that most of the muggers had gone underground following the media reports.
The officers sought the help of informers after they realised that police presence in back alleys, however covert, was conspicuous.
Informers and police are relying on the photographs which were exclusively published in the Nation newspaper to arrest the gang that left their victim in tattered clothes.
Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said the officers are under strict orders to arrest the five men and charge them with violent robbery in court.
Mugging has become a rather mundane occurrence on city streets, but has lately attracted attention because the gangs are using methods which cause either death or serious injuries to victims.
A recent victim, Mr William Kamanja, a lay reader at the All Saints Cathedral, was attacked on Kenyatta Avenue on March 13 and died of head injuries four days later.
Many other cases go unreported, as victims are reluctant to pursue cases because they are cumbersome and often unsuccessful.
The incident captured on camera happened near the Globe cinema roundabout, Nairobi. It is one of the 13 trouble spots frequented by muggers.
The attackers mostly operate before dawn and after dusk, but on Monday they took advantage of a riot by mechanics to attack passers-by in broad daylight.
Other black spots mapped out include the junctions of Accra Road and Ronald Ngala Street on River Road.
