Crime hot spots mushroom throughout the country

Violent criminals are becoming more ruthless and spreading their spheres of operation, police and medical reports indicate. In many towns, areas that were considered safe only a few years ago are now in the grip of violent criminal gangs.

A study by University of Nairobi lecturer Walter Odhiambo on the distribution of gun crime injuries received at the Kenyatta National Hospital revealed that most victims were from Eastlands, followed by Kasarani, Kangemi and Kawangware, Kibera, and Golf Course.

Police reports

However, police reports show that hitherto safe suburbs such as Kilimani, Hurlingham, and Karen are increasingly being affected by gun crime, with motorists being the targets. Police and medical reports in Nairobi, Eldoret, Mombasa, and other towns draw a map that shows that areas safe from crime are shrinking by the day.

Crime hot spots “are places where criminals lie in wait for their victims,” says Nairobi police officer Antony Kibuchi adding: “We are addressing logistical issues to stop the incidents.” Excuses for the rise in crime include poverty, drug abuse, and inadequate policing.

Most police stations in the city lack patrol vehicles or use battered ones that also transport suspects to courts, respond to emergencies, and ferry bodies to mortuaries. Police officers who spoke to the Nation said they have often been forced to respond to emergencies and crime scenes on foot or use public transport to take suspects to court.

In the Nairobi city centre, criminal gangs prey on their victims at the National Archives bus stage on Tom Mboya Street, Khoja Mosque, Gill House, and Ronald Ngala/Tom Mboya street junctions. These gangs sometimes boldly accost female pedestrians, grab their handbags, and assault their victims under the pretext that it is a domestic tussle.

Other places to avoid are Race Course Road especially at OTC and Landhies Road, where gangs snatch mobile phones and handbags. Biashara Street, which until a few years ago was considered safe, is now one of the most dangerous in Nairobi. Many daylight robberies have been reported by shop owners. Their customers have also been targeted by muggers and carjackers.

Other crime spots are at the Railway Bridge near Riadha House and the area on Uhuru Highway known as Makaburini. Limuru Road near City Park and the Chiromo/Museum Hill roundabout are the other dangerous spots. Globe Cinema roundabout is notorious for robberies and muggings by organised gangs of street people.

In Dandora, Stage 41 and Mowlem are zones where you are most likely to be attacked while in Kayole, Masimba stage and Kona Mbaya areas are the most dangerous. Doonholm, Umoja, and the adjacent Tena estate too have become infamous for criminal attacks. The Railway Bridge on Outer Ring Road and the Juja Road/Outer Ring Road roundabout have become criminal dens, especially in the early morning and at night.

Kibera’s Mashimoni, Sinai, and Katwikira areas are infamous for crime as is a railway crossing in Dagoretti and Mau Mau Bridge in Kawangware. Reports from Eldoret town say that the areas to avoid are Market Street, Sosiani, and Kogo Avenue. The area is inhabited by street youths who have set up a base close to River Sosiani and attack people day and night.

More than 20 street boys, suspected to be among those involved in the crime, were recently arrested following numerous complaints from the public. Other criminal activities occur in residential areas including the sprawling Huruma, Kambi Teso, Langas, and Munyaka. In Trans Nzoia District, Laini Saba, Matisi, Nyayo estate, and other areas in the outskirts of Kitale town are prone to crime, with motorists and business premises being the main targets. Trans Nzoia deputy police boss Karisa Mwajefa said scores of suspected robbers and muggers have been arrested in crackdowns.

In Mombasa, Kizingo, Bombolulu and Ziwa la Ng’ombe have not been previously known to be crime-prone, but this reality is fast changing. Another area that is fast becoming notorious for crime is Mtopanga estate in Kisauni, where cases of robbery and mugging have been reported in the recent past. Kisauni police officer Julius Wanjohi said Mishomoroni, Barsheba, Shanzu, and Kongowea are some of the areas in which crimes are frequently reported.

Community policing

The chairman of the Kisauni community policing initiative, Mr Abdallah Abdulrahman, described Bombolulu and Ziwa la Ng’ombe as “insecure in the recent past”. Kisauni residents have blamed the violent crime on drug abuse. “By 8.30pm areas such as Magodoroni are no-go zones,” said one resident.

Island Division community policing chairman Fuad Abdallah said crime was up in Shimanzi and Mwembe Tayari. “Travellers alighting from buses at Mwembe Tayari are targets,” he said. A municipal market razed by fire a few years ago has become a hideout for criminals and drug dealers. Digo and Customs roads in the central business district (CDB) are strongholds of criminal gangs.

In Nyeri, the Nation survey indicated that Gakere and Kanisa roads and Kimathi Way are the most dangerous. Residents say they are careful not to walk on those streets after dusk. Visitors to Nyeri are also advised to avoid back street bars because they are filled with con artists, mostly women, who “spike” drinks and steal from their unconscious victims.

But Nyeri police boss Kirunya Limbitu said police patrols had been intensified, even as he named the hot spots for muggers as Ruring’u and Kamakwa estates, the stretch near Chania River Bridge, and Kimathi Way near the provincial general hospital. And passengers using the Nyahururu-Rumuruti road count themselves lucky after driving past Kianugu area, five kilometres from Nyahururu town.