Revealed: The magnificent, empty houses of Thome estate

A house in Thome estate [Photo: Kelvin Kamau]

They invested millions of shillings in magnificent homes that they have now deserted. This is the fate of residents of leafy Thome estate in Nairobi. Most have been forced to move houses due to an upsurge in crime, perpetrated by dangerous and armed robbers who will stop at nothing - not even the high walls, barbed wires and alarm systems - to gain access into the properties.

Thome, once a vast coffee estate in the 1970s, is home to top civil servants, politicians and company executives, who now lament that besides robberies and burglaries in their homes, they now have contended with other violent crimes like rapes, carjackings and muggings. This has led to massive relocations akin to the one witnessed by residents of Kahawa Sukari estate in the mid-1990s.