Crime keeps urbanites away from home

Thousands of people are staying away from their rural homes this Christmas for fear of crime.

It is a Kenyan tradition for urban dwellers and those who work away from home to spend Christmas with family in the village, popularly known as “Shags”.

For many Kenyans, family gatherings are an opportunity not just to be with loved ones, but also to send careful signals about how well they are doing in the cities.

Thus, those who do not own a car hire one, shopping is done on a wholesale scale and there is a tendency towards generosity at the village bar.

But this year, these simple Christmas pleasures are denied many working class and well-off people by local gangsters and extortionists, especially in Central Province and parts of the Rift Valley.

It has become almost a tradition for bands of young hooligans to attack homes and terrorise families which have visitors, the assumption being that the visitor must have brought money or gifts.

This nature of crime has become so serious that in parts of Murang’a, Kiambu and Kirinyaga, dowry is no longer paid in cash. Instead, the groom is asked to write a cheque or make a deposit in his would-be in-law’s bank account.

“We are aware relatives, including elderly women, are being robbed soon after their children have left. Gangsters are on the lookout for new faces whose hoes they target,” said Kigumo DC Omar Salat.

Causing fear

Like most areas of the larger Murang’a District, Kigumo is a Mungiki stronghold and the DC warned that other criminals could exploit the sect’s unsavoury reputation.

“Criminals are causing fear. Some have made it a tradition that they “must be seen” before a dowry ceremony can go ahead,” he said.

The gangs are very active this season and specifically target “people from Nairobi”, a phrase describing anyone who does not frequently visit.

“If they do not attack you at dusk, they attack your home when you are gone,” said Mr Kamau Chege of Wethaga location in Kiharu.

Mr Chege has been attacked once and his mother twice after he visited in his new car.

A businessman from Kariguini village in Othaya says he no longer visits his rural home. “I have not gone there for Christmas since 2002. When I go, I sneak in at night and leave at dawn because if they see me, the gangs will come and demand money,” he said.