CRIME WAVE IS HURTING ECONOMIC GROWTH IN KENYA

By Leo Odera Omolo Kisumu

WHEREAS the police Commissioner Maj Gen Mohammed Hussein Ali has laid a great emphasis in placing more policemen to the road check points in many part of the country, the crime waves is still on the upsurge.

The interior villages in Siaya, Bomet,Gucha, Machakos, Homabay, Kiambu, Nyeri, Meru and Trans-Nzoia are prone to night attacks by organized gangsters armed with sophisticated weapons

Robbery with violence is the most prevalent crime in Kenya today, contributing over 30 percent of all reported crimes, the newly released report on crime indicates.

Last month alone (December 2006) robbery with violence occurrences contributed to 26 per cent of all incidents reported to G4s communication centre in Nairobi.

And last October, the number of robbery with violence incidents reported contributed about 29 percent of the serious crimes reported.

Robbery with violence attracts a mandatory death sentence if one is convicted of the offence, according to Kenya's law based on penal code.

But the severest sentence being meted out by law courts, which included the death sentence, has yet to deter the criminal elements from carrying out their acts.

Many people have lost their lives in the hands of hardcore criminal elements, especially those who have devised the new methods of visiting wealthy businessmen and farmers in their rural village homes during the wee hours of the night.

In the urban centers, the situation is even worse. Nobody is safe to walk from one building to the other after 8pm.This is not confined to the big cities, but even in the small towns such as Oyugis, Ogembo, Keroka, Awendo, Homa-bay and Rongo.

In Nyanza province, taking such a risk of walking from one building to the other can easily result in the loss of one's life.

Criminals are so brave that in some places they sit in waiting in the bushes near the country bus terminal in waiting for passengers alighting from Buses in the evening time.

Passengers boarding country buses in places like Kisumu are forced to go through a thorough body search for concealed weapons before being allowed to board buses heading for Nairobi and other destinations.

A knock at the door in the wee hours of the night can bring sudden death to members of a family as the criminal gangs search for money, electronics gadgets such as TV, Radio sets and mobile cell phones.

Owning a sleek car and parking it outside your house at night can also bring sudden death to a family member when a gang of carjackers come visiting with weapons in hand

The report cautions Kenyans that this being an election year, politicians are likely to incite their supporters into violence which will lead to increased incidents of crime, especially in urban areas.

There will be more hooliganism associated with irresponsible political utterances in public gatherings. Again most criminals will take advantage of such acts of hooliganism to steal and loot, says the report compiled by a Nairobi based G4 Security.

Robbery with violence was cited as the most common crime in Nairobi and other urban areas in Kenya. It has also spread like bush fire to the rural areas. People are no longer safe staying overnight in their rural village homes.

Despite the rising incidences of attacks by armed gangsters last month, which shows more than three policemen dying in such violent robberies, the crime waves was in terms of violent robberies worst in Nairobi. The month of October last year was cited as the worst month in terms of crimes.The number of incidences recorded in October 2006 only was above the monthly average by 62 percent ,says report.

The popular opinion among the big business people is that the government should involve private security firms in the fight against crimes.

The country laws should be reviewed to allow the arming of private security guards and use of smoke boxes in the event of cash transfer services.

In Kisii region of Nyanza Province, the people have already abandoned the idea of sleeping inside their rural homes, for fear of being attacked and killed.The same fear is now spreading like bush fire in Siaya, particularly in Gem constituency which is prone to organized crime and night gang attacks.

Many people have abandoned their rural homes in Kiambu and sought for safety in the city of Nairobi. The same is witnessed in all of suburbs surrounding Nakuru and Eldoret towns.

The people blame the police force for having placed many able bodied policemen in the traffic checking role instead of engaging every available policeman on the war against crimes.

Hiring a taxi in any Kenyan town could turn to be a nightmare, particularly in Kisumu town, where the taxi drivers are known to be working in collaboration with criminal elements in the town.

A passenger would be driven to a remote part of the town where the criminals are hiding in waiting. The taxi driver would then fake a mechanical breakdown or a puncher while the criminals would spring up from their hideouts and rob the passengers, including the taxi driver, of many valuables and mobile phones. The taxi driver would fake that he too had lost his belongings, money and cell phones in the hold up and yet he is a willing collaborator in the crime.

Most targeted are cell phones of passengers who travel on country buses from Nairobi and other destinations and places during night time.

Passengers heading for the outlaying districts like Busia, Siaya and Rachuonyo have been targeted and at some point taken into remote areas, stripped naked and robbed, and young females often raped in event.

ENDS
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com

The writer is LUOCOME REPORTER based in Kisumu. We urge all LUOCOME members with pressing issues pertaining to media and press releases to kindly contact him from any where in world. He will assist you to get true picture of your Village Developement.
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