Chilling Crime in Nairobi: What Prime Time News Missed

Last night I was watching Prime time news on one of our local stations. As with all other days, there was a buzz word for the day. Yesterday's Buzz word was "hotly contested" or a variation, which was used to refer to several instances of Mayoral elections in different towns in the country. The news caster kept reminding the viewers that each of the elections was hotly contested. This was soon followed by a Swine flu head count in the country and onto other depressing news about crime here and there. Of late, prime time news has been serving us tales of rising crime in Nairobi, together with the rising stories of Kidnapping, which a friend, Conrad Otieno, says that has been fueled by the coverage local media has been giving it. As we eat supper, we have been having armed robbery tales served for dessert. The same news has been mirrored in all Local media outlets.So far, we have been hearing of how crime has moved from the low income areas to the high income areas, and how MP x , CEO Y and other high profile people got car jacked. Police have even gone ahead to say that the crime increase in such areas is due to the crack downs in low income areas, where they say crime has reduced. Well, that is what we call bogus coverage. Crime has shot up in all areas of the city, and has become chilling in the said areas that criminals are said to have moved from. A friend recounted a story of how they got car jacked (in a matatu ) last Friday. The time was between 8.00 p.m. and 9.00 p.m., and my friend boarded a Toyota (nissan 14 seater at Utalii college along Thika road. He was on his way home from attachment at the mentioned institution, and he had just received a Ksh. 500 tip from his kind boss. The matatu proceeded to Githurai 45 roundabout, where it dropped and picked passengers. A group of men boarded the matatu, some at the back seat and others in the middle row of seats. As the matatu was exiting the round about, a man flagged the matatu in the middle of the road. As the driver slowed down, the man opened the drivers door, yanked the driver out and sped off with the vehicle. 3 of his colleageus then drew pistols and took over the vehicle. A woman who tried to scream was silenced with a slap, and the man in the driver seat pumped up the vehicles volume to loud music. The matatu was then driven off the road to a secluded area in the "k.m." area behind Kenyatta University. In the area, the men then ordered the passengers out one by one, where each was slowly frisked and emptied of their effects. The female passengers were then taken aside one by one where they were each raped by the gang. The ordeal lasted till about 11.00 p.m. in the night. On the weekend news, the dominating crime stories were how a minister was robbed at his home , and the prime ministers private office been broken into. No one was subjected to the horrid details of the above crime, or similar crimes that happened elsewhere in such areas. The victims of such crimes are left traumatized for life, and exposed to sexually transmitted diseases. How many women and men suffer from the trauma of been raped(gang raped- there have been tales of men getting sodomized in such ordeals). How many people suffer from the trauma of experiencing their mothers and sisters been raped as they helplessly watch? Crime is no longer about violent robbery, but now has lasting and permanent emotional scars. If it such dangerous to travel as early as 8.00 p.m. in such populous areas of the city, where is our refuge. We take console in our leaders been car jacked of their fuel guzzlers(which are later recovered) and loosing a few thousands from their bank accounts. They will be on Sunday news recounting their stories as we eat ugali milled from imported maize. The ladies who were raped will not be on Sunday 9.00 p.m. news recounting the details as you eat your supper. Even if they were offered a chance to do so, will they have the courage to recount such horrific happenings? Next time, before you buy that cheap phone/laptop with suspicious sources, think about what the owner went through before parting with it.

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Beers in Kenya: A sober opinion

Note: This is a dated post and has since been mostly passed by events. SAB Miller beers including Castle and Peroni are no longer widely available in Kenya after their exist. Sirville Brewery was bought out by Brew Bistro before being permanently shut in a tax dispute. Kenya is a land of milk, honey, beaches and taxes. I have penned, or is typed, a newer post here . Peroni - One of the best beers in Kenya. Did a taste of canned and bottled Italian, and bottled Tanzanian I like the tangy flavour and body in Tanzanian Peroni. The can is close. Heineken drinkers will like the Italian one. I have had a short beer swigging stint in my life. It has however been long enough for me to share my opinion of Kenyan beer. Interestingly, over the course of sharing such opinions with other drunkards connoisseurs, I have found that we all have different views as to what beer is the best, which one makes you too drunk, or which one gives one free, extra hangover for every ha...

Visiting Watamu

Getting to Watamu: Flight to Malindi Airport. Jambojet flies here and so do other airlines from Wilson. You'll then need a Cab to Watamu (KSh. 1,700 to KSh. 2,000 - many apps are inaccurate) or matatu just outside the airport (KSh. 100) SGR to Mombasa, then shuttle to Watamu. There are about 2 regular shuttles and they charge KSh. 1,500 to KSh. 2,000 one way Bus to Watamu. Tahmeed and other buses operate regular schedules to Total Watamu Drive: It's faster branching through Mariakani to Kaloleni then to Kilifi. The route through Tsavo is not any faster and has park fees. Takes 9 hours Things to do Beach Sunbathing : Watamu has some of the world's best beaches, with white sand. The left side from Watamu Village has a bay with shallow water during low tide, you can wade and swim in the ocean even if you don't know how to swim! Ocean is warm in July - August but very windy. Watamu beaches have lots of seaweed but this shouldn't deter yo...

Nairobi's Top 4 Texas Brisket Places Reviewed and Ranked

Brisket on a bed of roast vegetables with barbecue sauce at Texas Brisket, Kikuyu This review has been updated after a number of you suggested I try the brisket at County2County. What's the best place to have Brisket in Nairobi? What's even brisket? Brisket is one of the toughest cuts in a cow, from around the belly. It is so tough that it has to be smoked for about 16 hours to tenderise. But that there, is the catch. 12 to 16 hours later, it is the most flavourful and softest cut you will ever have. So full of flavour and so soft you can pick it apart with your fingers. However, due to the long cooking time involved, only a few places offer brisket in Nairobi. The best so far is Texas Brisket which is located within Kikuyu Railway station. They do the meat for a proper 16 hours, and will usually have a fatty or non-fatty portion. The fatty portions are more tasty. A 500 gram serving goes for KSh. 900 and a 1 KG order comes with a serving of fre...

Beers of Kenya. The Ultimate 2019 Guide

Four years ago, precisely in 2015, I wrote about beer in Kenya in what has gone on to be my most popular post this year with more than 5,000 people reading it. It seems that there is a lot of interest in exploring beer in Kenya, which is understandable. The brewing sector has grown since then and we now have lots of options, which means it is time for another review. Back in 2015, Kenya had one major brewer - EABL/KBL, challenged by Keroche and Sierra which is more of a small volume craft brewer, and arguably Kenya’s first craft brewery. It had also been joined by Brew Bistro which mostly sells its malted stuff at its outlets in Nairobi and later by Sirville, a bar located at Galleria Mall. Sirville was later sold to Brew Bistro and converted to the latter for a while, before shutting down in what is alleged to be a tax dispute.

Why Humanity Hasn't Learned From the Covid Pandemic

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic began ravaging the world, succeeding the 1918 flu pandemic. Many found it unbelievable that despite all the scientific progress that the world has made since 1918, from composite jets to modern healthcare to going to the moon, the world was still susceptible to a pandemic. Ironically, some of these advancements largely played a role in the spread of the pandemic. Thousands of global flights every hour and air conditioning fanned its spread like a dry wind would in a forest fire. There was even further disbelief in mid-2020 when it became apparent that many countries were even struggling to keep a pandemic in check. Developed countries, supposed to have the best healthcare, suffered the worst outbreaks amidst disagreements on measures such as quarantines and wearing of masks. In yet another twist, technology advancement finally came to our rescue with the speedy development of vaccines, including the safe pioneering of never-tried-b...

Dennis Kioko

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