Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere owes Nairobi residents some answers regarding security. The number of home invasions in the city is at a record high.
The rate at which people are being carjacked and robbed in their homes is worrying, and there is no sign things are about to change for the better.
Certain parts of the city are more affected by others and residents are now living in constant fear with attacks taking place despite assurances that security has been tightened, including patrols by the police.
There has long been a perception that living in gated communities is an assurance against such attacks, but if what continues to happen in Langata is anything to go by, then this false sense of security has been shattered, especially in Langata, and other areas of the city where pistol-wielding gangs continue to harass residents day and night.
Some residents are now asking if the city has been quietly zoned by the police to carve out areas where their role in enforcing security and arresting criminals is guided by who lives there. They also wish to know why the City Council has allowed the proliferation of hawking, garages and illegal kiosks that coincided with an increase in home invasions in areas like those surrounding Nairobi Dam and Langata Shopping Centre.
On Saturday and Monday nights, one gang in the area invaded homes just 100 metres from each other, robbed residents of their valuables, packed them into their vehicles and took off. Every resident of the city regardless of where he or she lives and their status in life, deserves security.
But the manner in which thugs are operating with abandon paints a poor picture of the police and it is time Iteere addressed the matter in a comprehensive manner, not through press conferences but by getting the various police chiefs to crack the whip.
Police in areas most affected deserve to get more support in terms of vehicles and more officers to carry out patrols.
