Nairobi’s crime map: City residents at the mercy of miscreants
An aerial view of Nairobi city centre. Police records and data from other agencies show that Nairobi had the highest number of reported crimes, including murder, in the past three years.
In the British series “Midsomer Murders”, directed by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson, it is all about several mystery murders that take place in a crime-infested town in the county of Midsomer.
Every episode has a high number of body counts and when they are discovered, police go out promising to find out who is behind the deaths, in vain.
But it is clear that the culprit is not a serial killer and the person doing it succeeds in compounding their crimes as they go on with the killing ways.
It is reminiscent of the way many young people have been killed across Nairobi and their bodies dumped in rivers or forests.
And just like in the TV series, the police have not managed to get to the bottom of the cases that leave families in pain and the public shocked, wondering who might be the next target.
Interestingly, most of the victims whose bodies are found dumped in various parts of the country usually have criminal records.
When Mr Samuel Mugo Mugota was shot dead on Mirema Drive in Roysambu, Nairobi County, police said they were investigating the killing, which was captured on a video that made the rounds on social media. He was shot six times by unknown assailants but his killers have not been arrested.
Samuel Mugo Mugota who was shot six times by unknown assailant in Mirema, Kasarani.
A few weeks later, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss revealed that Mr Mugota, whom they linked to a series of robberies in the city, was a wanted man and had several cases in court.
According to the police, Mr Mugota was a suspected criminal who led a secret life and he was probably killed by his fellow gangsters over a business deal gone sour.
To back their execution theory, detectives said that nothing was stolen from his car. A laptop, five mobile phones and nine identity cards were found in his Honda CRV.
Just like in Mr Mugota’s case, three weeks ago, four men disappeared from Kasarani in Nairobi, only for their bodies to be found dumped in different parts of the country.
The bodies of Fred Obare, Frank Obegi, Moses Nyachae and Elijah Omeka were found in Kijabe forest and Magadi amid claims that they were involved in a cash and cryptocurrency scam.
Will one day get justice
Police said they were investigating the matter but they have not said what they uncovered, with the men’s families hoping that they will one day get justice.
Police records and data from other agencies show that Nairobi had the highest number of reported crimes, including murder, in the past three years.
Research by the Nation on the number of crimes reported across the country compared with Nairobi shows that a person is more likely to become a victim of crime in the city.
Other counties that have recorded a large number of crimes are Kiambu and Meru, and the cases increased especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Data from the 2021 Kenya Economic Survey showed that the three counties accounted for over a quarter of the 81,272 crimes reported in the last year.
Nairobi topped the list, recording a total of 6,686 crimes, followed by Kiambu (5,715) and Meru (5,032 cases).
“Nairobi City police command station accounted for the highest number of persons reported to have committed crime at 8.5 percent, Kiambu and Meru at 6.7 percent and 6.1 percent,” the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said in the report.
A report from the National Police Service reveals that in the last five years, Nairobi residents reported criminal cases to police stations as follows: in 2017, a total of 7,434 cases; in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, the cases were 7,128, 8,246, 5,844, 6,686, respectively.
It has also emerged that the majority of the cases are reported by men.
“The total number of people reported to have committed homicide went up by 9.3 percent from 2,494 cases in 2020 to 2,726 cases in 2021,” the report said.
A person is more likely to be robbed, mugged, raped or killed in Nairobi than in any other part of the country.
Research conducted in 2021 by the National Crime Research Centre, a government body that keeps data and records on crime rates, showed that mugging topped the list of crimes in the country.
Muggings accounted for 68.8 percent of crimes in Nairobi compared with the national percentage of 19.1. Second on the list for the city was theft (54.9 percent), while the national average was 40.4 percent.
A person is more likely to be robbed, mugged, raped or killed in Nairobi than in any other part of the country.
Robbery with violence
Third on the list is burglary and break-ins, which recorded 51.1 percent in Nairobi, compared with 42 percent nationally.
Robbery with violence and possession of narcotic drugs came in fourth and fifth, recorded 30.2 and 30.1 in the city.
Robbery without violence was sixth (30.2 percent), compared with 10.6 percent nationally.
The seventh, eighth and ninth positions were taken by murder (13 percent), assault causing bodily harm (9.8 percent) and rape (9.7 percent).
Other crimes reported in the city included drunkenness (5 percent) and disorderly conduct (4.9 percent), and gender-based violence (4.5 percent).
The high crime rate in the city and fears that one may be attacked or robbed were cited in a survey conducted by Numbeo, which ranks countries by various strata.
Most Nairobi residents fear walking alone at night.
Other crimes listed by the organisation include assault, armed robbery, vandalism and theft.
The others are muggings and car break-ins.
Various forms of crime
Security experts say various forms of crime increased, especially after the Covid-19 period.
The rate of crime is high in Nairobi because many people usually flock there to find jobs and earn an income, said Mr Kevin Moenga, a security analyst based in the city.
He said that the high number of people in the city was a contributing factor to the increase in crime.
“Most people also lost jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic and this saw many engage in deals or crimes that can see them survive until they get other jobs,” he said.
Crimes like mugging, he said, are on the increase because perpetrators do not need to use force or weapons.
He also said that when courts release offenders on bond, they go back to society and continue committing crimes as their cases drag on.
A study conducted by Dr John Ndikaru of the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) shows that controlling crime is a big problem.
“Kenya has shown a marked increase in the contemporary years in the occurrences of lawbreaking and violations. The rate is alarming and has attained an epidemic proportion …,” he said.
He said most of the crimes happen in major towns, especially Nairobi.
“When crimes are not reported to the police, victims may not be able to get necessary services to cope … Offenders may go scot-free, and law [enforcement] and community resources may be misdirected due to a lack of precise information about local crime complications,” he said.
Dr Ndikaru said that the common motivations for reporting a crime include punishing the offender and discouraging potential offenders.
