Listening to their woes paints a picture of a mentally disturbed bunch who have lost their cherished, hard-earned motor vehicles, popularly known as proboxes.
Joined at the hip by their misery, the victims' paths have crossed several times as they join the police in the search for the stolen cars, consoling each other despite unsuccessful recovery missions.
In Mogotio and Rongai areas of Baringo and Nakuru counties respectively, car owners have fallen prey to car theft cartels on the prowl, leaving residents of the two areas worried to death.
On the night of 21 March 2023, businessman Joseph Warui alias J2's closed-circuit television (CCTV) recorded activities outside his homestead after car thieves invaded his residences.
Within 2 hours and 15 minutes, the intruders had stolen his Probox car while members of his family were enjoying an unusual nap.
Despite installing a surveillance camera, Mr Warui was fast asleep when the theft took place.
"I didn't hear a thing, neither did my wife... how they did it still remains a mystery.
"I am not used to heavy sleep but that day it happened. Bizarre as it may sound," Mr Warui added with a light touch.
He woke up, stretched and stepped out into the car park, only to get the shock of his life. The vehicle was gone. "At first I thought my wife had driven it away."
The husband and wife were exchanging barbs, and the wife thought her husband was pulling a prank, before reality dawned on them after viewing the CCTV footage.
Mr Warui, still in shock, recounted how he had parked his vehicle the previous night and demonstrated how he drove into the yard as his wife watched.
"I thought for a moment I was in a deep sleep...a trance, but no, I was not sleepwalking," he recalled the unsettling moment.
They had been robbed... "My wife was inconsolable... I had a very hard time calming her down," Mr Warui added.
He has reported the theft to the police, but the vehicle has still not been found. But he remains optimistic.
Primary school teacher Francis Chelimo experienced a similar ordeal on the night of 10 March. Car thieves broke into his house and made off with his prized Probox car.
Like Mr Warui, he only noticed it in the early hours of the morning. "The theft was done meticulously and without a trace," he confessed.
The family was fast asleep, and Mr Chelimo became aware of the car's disappearance after waking up around 5:00 am for the day's activities, which included the morning drive to Marigat town.
"I mobilised the whole family and broke the sad news. Gari imeenda... The vehicle has been stolen," he muttered to the bewildered relatives.
The family burst into tears...the planned trip, abandoned. The day's activities ruined. Confusion had set in. For a moment they did not know what to do next.
He had painstakingly saved Sh650,000 to buy the vehicle to facilitate his journey to school. "In a flash, it was gone. The family was devastated.
He immediately reported the matter to the Athinai police station, but like his colleagues, the vehicle is still untraceable.
Nakuru-based journalist Tom Chepsoi suffered a similar ordeal at the hands of a gang targeting Probox owners in the Mogotio and Rongai areas.
His car was stolen from his backyard in Soin on 25 March. The car thieves struck in the middle of the night and drove away.
In a similar modus operandi, they struck at an ungodly hour and drove away unnoticed.
"What puzzles us is that no one was able to detect the theft. This is a gang of stealthy thieves who sneak away unobserved," said Mr Chepsoi.
"I was servicing my loan and had only two months to complete the payment for the vehicle only for the Probox to be stolen, it is painful," said Mr Chepsoi.
Some of them have taken to social media to detail the brazen theft, with the number of those who have lost their Probox vehicles currently standing at more than seven.
"We are really suffering. We are asking the police to step up the investigation and stop further thefts. At this rate, we are all worried," Mr Chepsoi stressed.
The Bahati-based businessman told the Nation that he packed the lorry with registration number KDG O82L around 9pm near the petrol station where he has been parking it for the past one year and lost it to thieves.
"It was not the first time I parked there, I had a pick-up for five years and always parked in the same place. I wonder who decided to steal my truck. It was my livelihood. I just hope it is found," said a distraught Mr Ndumia.
Mr Kirori revealed that after informing the company where he bought the truck, they tracked it and informed him that it had been driven towards Mawanga area, 20 kilometres from Maili Kumi centre.
He said the vehicle tracker showed that the last signal was around Rabbit Farm in the Mawanga area before the engine was finally switched off at around 12am.
Mr Kirori said he mobilised his friends and neighbours who went to the area to search, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
A heartbroken Mr Kirori reported the matter to Bahati Police Station under OB 09/24/2023 and was referred to the Nakuru Directorate of Criminal Investigations for further investigations.
His wife, Mrs Ann Wanjiru, called on the police to speed up investigations, saying the truck was the young family's main source of livelihood.
"We do not know if the robbers were watching and following my husband or if they just struck and got lucky the first time. What pains us is that we have to repay the loan for the purchase of the truck in full, even though we do not use the vehicle. We urge the police to speed up their investigation," she said.
These are just some of the many vehicles that have been stolen in Nakuru and Baringo counties in the past two months.
At least 10 to 12 people in Nakuru and Baringo counties have lost their vehicles in a similar manner.
The incidents, which have mainly targeted Probox vehicles, have raised fears among residents that a vehicle theft syndicate has struck the region.
Residents now want security agencies to unearth the syndicate behind the spate of vehicle thefts in the area.
"We are living in fear of losing our vehicles. We call on the police to investigate and arrest those behind the theft," Mr Benard Kibet, a resident of Nakuru, told the Nation.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations are now burning the midnight oil in hot pursuit of those behind the spate of motor vehicle thefts in the two counties that have left residents worried.
Outgoing Nakuru County Criminal Investigations Officer Anthony Sunguti revealed that investigations into the incidents are ongoing.
"We have launched investigations to arrest those involved in the vice. We have already gathered enough information that can help us trace those involved," said Mr Sunguti.
A senior detective involved in the investigation pointed to a car theft syndicate with tentacles in Nakuru, Baringo and neighbouring Kericho, Bomet, Narok and Nyandarua counties.
"Investigations are progressing well and we will soon make arrests, we suspect it is a car theft syndicate with networks in various counties," the senior detective revealed, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the press.
Victims are now hoping against hope that the police will uncover the syndicate behind the spate of car thefts.
