Nairobi leaders on the spot as crime levels rise alarmingly

In scenes reminiscent of Sodom and Gomorrah, a video that has gone viral shows a woman being raped on a city street in broad daylight while onlookers cheer on the perpetrator, thus raising serious concerns on the state of security in Nairobi.

In the video, the woman tries to fight of the offender as she is pinned on the ground.

When she cries out that she is being raped, the crowd urges the attacker on. The victim gives in after being threatened with death. 

POLICE
The incident happened at 11am last Sunday right in the Nairobi Central Business District, according to a shop owner on the street where the offence occurred.

“I was away from the premises since we close on Sundays. I learnt about the case through the video circulating online and when policemen came arresting those found hanging around. It is gross,” the man said.

The shop owner said it was not the first time such an incident had happened there.

Nairobi Police Commander Joseph ole Tito said police arrested “a few culprits” to assist with investigations.

COMPLAINT

However, he speculated there might have been an arrangement between the woman and the man which went out of hand after a curious crowd gathered and started filming.

He admitted it was not the first such incidence. Police now want the woman who was assaulted to come forward and help in identify the suspects.

“We have not been able to get a complainant. We rounded up a few characters around there but the complainant must come forward and tell us: This is the person who assaulted me.”

He described their pursuit of the case in the absence of a complainant as “trial and error”.

SUSPECTS
Central Police Station OCPD Robinson Githuku however said the 12 people were in custody including the man caught on camera on the act.

He said the woman was needed to record a statement.

“We are still following our leads to find the woman because we hear she frequents the neighbourhood.

“If it is rape, then we will charge the man with indecent assault, rape and creating public nuisance. If otherwise, we will charge the two with creating public nuisance,” Mr Githuku said.

A woman who supplies food to traders on the street said 12 people were arrested by police on Wednesday, a day after the video went viral on internet, over “idling”.

She said she knew the woman in the video, saying she spends some time among the young on that street.

“She was said to be among those arrested but yesterday (Wednesday) evening I saw her,” she added.

“The spiteful part,” she said, “is that a crowd gathered and cheered on notwithstanding the lady’s pleas, which makes us question our moral uprightness”.

RECRUITMENT
And it gets worse: The Saturday Nation recently saw statements by a girl who says she was recruited into crime by a policewoman who is married to a prominent officer in the Kenya Police Service ranks.

The girl detailed how the policewoman convinced her to put up in her house, taking her books and other personal effects with her.

It took a frantic search by her parents to have her back.

She disclosed that other students were also being recruited into crime by this policewoman, and that they would be executed once they were no longer useful or when they were perceived to have known too much.

Incidents of residents being waylaid by muggers and robbers in broad daylight are on the increase as notorious gangs like 40 brothers control the streets with law enforcers on patrol curiously unaware.

MUGGERS
People are robbed of hard-earned cash and other personal effects as they leave ATM lobbies, Forex Bureaus and M-Pesa shops — and even as they go about their businesses.

A leader of one of the criminal gangs said a member must show a piece of torn cloth from each victim as proof that they deserve a share of the loot at the end of the day.

CCTV footages have caught these thugs harassing Nairobians but that seems to be the end of the matter as they will appear in another corner of the city hungrier and more ruthless.

The Economic Survey 2018 released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics this week shows that incidents of crime have nearly doubled over the past three years.

The report shows 4,383 incidents were reported to the police in 2015, 4,954 in 2016 and 7,434 last year despite police saying they had formed a special team to address crime in the city.

However, according to Mr Tito, crime has not skyrocketed in the city.

PROSECUTION
He said: “There has been an increase?, not really. But unless cases are reported you may not be able to know.

“And I really doubt that somebody can be offended and he or she just keeps quiet. I don’t have those many reports received so far.”

Nairobi City Inspectorate director of operations Peter Mbaya said the county has embarked on elaborate plans to stem insecurity in Nairobi.

He said City Hall some of the measures taken to decease cases of insecurity include installing streetlights and clearing illegal structures, hawkers and bodaboda operators from the streets.

Mr Mbaya said a team of five quasi-police officers was formed in November last year to help contain the situation.

“The team dubbed Anti-Muggers plays a bigger role than the name suggests. The team has been provided with a vehicle which they use to patrol the central business district to do a swoop in Nairobi.

“They arrests and apprehend muggers, who are then taken to courts around Nairobi. It has seen an improvement in the spate of criminality in the city,” he said.

STREET CHILDREN
Concerning street families, he said that through various swoops by the inspectorate team, their numbers in the streets has drastically reduced, adding that the swoop is being continuously done with 20 street children arrested every single day.

As a long-term plan, the inspectorate director says that the county government has enrolled the street children in the rehabilitation homes owned by City Hall.

“We take them to school with a view to giving them work after they are done with schooling,” he said.