By Damaris Mabeya
Nairobi is a haven for economic progress and businesses. Being a cosmopolitan city, there’s all manner of thugs, con men, and petty thieves who take advantage of unsuspecting pedestrians, motorists, and shoppers.
Most people are caught unawares, even those considered veterans can still fall prey to their cunning ploys. They say Nairobi ni mji wa wajanja… shamba la mawe. There are human beings in Nairobi who are ready to kill and injure to take anything valuable from mostly defenseless Nairobians.
There are streets and places in Nairobi where the chances of being mugged are always above 90 percent. What is scarier is that you will be mugged in broad daylight as other people pass by. Nobody really cares.
Here are some of the robbery hotspots in Nairobi:
- Luthuli avenue
- Ngara
- Odeon
- OTC
- Muthurwa
- River Road
- Tom Mboya/National Archive
- Kencom
- Moi avenue
- Afia Center
- Railway stage
- Ambassador
Once mugged, one is always left in shock, most people would never stop to address commotion because of the presence of gangs, thus true victims sometimes fail to get help.
In most places, the police presence doesn’t bother these gangs because they can tell the police are unarmed or that they can be outnumbered. A very sad occurrence that most people can relate to is the loss of phones while stuck in traffic.
The following are some of the most sensitive areas where they target their victims, this is due to the fact that all these places are central in terms of accessibility and are busy streets.
This list is not exhaustive as one should always take precautions to ensure their belongings are safely held and that their bags are well zipped.
All places have the potential to be crime scenes for petty offenders to take advantage of, thus security remains to be a personal responsibility before authorities intervene.
Read More: