Top cops hold crisis meeting after crime rise

By Cyrus Ombati

Nairobi, Kenya: Senior police officers in Nairobi Tuesday held a crisis meeting to discuss crime levels.

The police bosses met with Nairobi county police commander Benson Kibui to discuss how they can tame crime levels in the city.

Kibui said top on the agenda was the rising cases of carjacking, which target public service vehicles on a daily basis.

The meeting agreed to post armed police officers on most matatu termini in the city, ensure all matatu operators employ personnel to screen passengers who board their vehicles and make matatu crew to take responsibility for any such future insecurity incidents.

Armed and plain-clothes officers will also be riding on select vehicles to tame such incidents, added Kibui.

“We have told matatu crews that if their vehicles are attacked and passengers are robbed, they will take the responsibility,” said Kibui.

He added some of the incidents involve collusion between thugs and matatu crew.

“We have arrested and charged some of these drivers and conductors for the robberies and failing to stop the attacks,” he said.

He added they will discourage matatus from picking up passengers, especially at night.

A matatu that was dropping passengers on Jogoo Road last week was attacked.

Seven men who had been standing at the terminus posing as passengers forced their way into the bus and later commandeered it to a nearby slum and robbed the commuters of their valuables.

“There was a case of a student who was going to do her exam but she missed it after a carjacking,” said Kibui.

Carjacking incidents have been on the rise in Nairobi. In some incidents, passengers and some bus crew have been killed and injured.

It reached a point where police boss David Kimaiyo advised passengers to avoid some buses notorious for attacks.

The bus company came out and declared it had taken measures to tame the crime.