Pickpockets target unsuspecting commuters’ cash, mobile phones

Passengers jostle to board a matatu. Pickpockets bank on such moments to  make a kill on unsuspicious passengers.   [Phot:Standard/File]

By JOE KIARIE

Nairobi, Kenya: Commuters using public service vehicles within Nairobi are increasingly falling prey to crafty pickpocket gangs roaming various city routes. 

The criminals board matatus disguised as passengers, primarily targeting cash and mobile phones and alight immediately after accomplishing their mission, or when their cover is blown. A number of victims report collusion between the thugs and matatu crews, a claim the latter do not deny.

A fortnight ago, Luke Were, boarded a 14-seater matatu at Mlolongo headed to the city centre and took the seat next to the conductor.  He says a minute into the journey, the conductor dropped some coins at his foot and crudely prompted him to adjust his sitting position so that he could pick them up.

“All this time, a smartly dressed man, seated on my right side was gently leaning by my side pretending to be helping locate the coins,” recounts Were. 

He continues, “Another man in a suit was shouting from the back and pointing to different spots he thought the coins could have landed”.

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 Little did Were know he was all this time being relieved of his iPad tucked in his right pocket. The two men alighted moments after the conductor collected all the coins. “When I reached for my iPad, I noted it was missing and raised alarm.

 “Another passenger at the back seat said he had also lost his phone too,” he recounts.  He says the conductor claimed the two passengers might have been thieves.

Similar cases

“That is when it dawned on us that we had been tricked into a robbery trap hatched between the duo and the crew,” he says.

 Similar cases are being widely reported along busy routes, with victims often deceived by the age and neatness of the criminals.

At the matatu terminus located next to Kobil filling station at the Uhuru Highway and Haile Sellasie Avenue junction in Nairobi, a gang of five young men has been sporadically surfacing and robbing unsuspicious passengers.

Carrying trademark backpacks, they take strategic positions in empty matatus and swiftly steal from boarding passengers before hopping out.

Jesse Kamwaro recently fell prey to the gang.  “Immediately I boarded a matatu, a man dropped a bunch of keys and asked me to help him pick them up.

It is then that I realised another young man seated next to me had his hand in my pocket. They quickly alighted,” recounts Kamwaro.

Kamwaro also alighted after collecting some of his documents the pickpockets had dropped as they dashed out.

But he was surprised to find the duo strategically seated in a mini-bus he boarded next. “They again quickly hopped out, just as a Korean couple reported having lost a wallet and a mobile phone,” he explains.

Such gangs are common along Jogoo Road, Thika Road, Ngong Road, lang’ata Road, and Mombasa Road, which serve city suburbs. Last year two police officers were arrested among members of such a gang and charged in court after they were found stealing from commuters in Nairobi.

 James Kimani, a driver operating along Nairobi’s route 44 admits some crews collude with the criminals.

“At times, conductors spot the gangs robbing passengers but fail to raise alarm for fear of reprisal attacks.  But there are some crews who collude with the pickpockets and get a share of the loot,” he reveals.

Along the Thika Superhighway, he says the pickpockets normally alight between Muthaiga and Safari Park hotel after robbing commuters.

On the rise

Matatu Drivers and Conductors Association Chairman Mr Samson Wainaina agrees that pick pocketing in PSVs are on the rise. But he says most of those involved operate on a part-time basis or are unauthorised drivers and conductors.

“The touts ushering commuters at the bus stops are also involved since they have time to know who is carrying what and help the gangs position themselves strategically in the vehicles,” he notes.

Wainaina says some crews have found themselves on the receiving end on suspicion of colluding with the gangs. “Late last year we had a case where a driver and conductor were charged with robbery with violence after a woman was robbed and assaulted.  They were accused of organising a gang to rob a passenger at the Country Bus Station,” he reveals.

He continues, “Labour laws should be applied so that we have permanently employed crews who would be held accountable in cases of such crimes.

He equally points an accusing finger at the police, who he claims have not taken any action against the gangs, most of which are known.

Matatu Owners Association chairman Mr Simon Kimutai terms the situation unfortunate and says it will take collective action from stakeholders to eradicate the vice.

“Matatu owners can help by vetting their employees and hiring them on permanent terms to ensure accountability. Members of the public should also report all pick pocketing cases to the police, who should not hesitate in arresting the culprits,” he avers.