Boda boda cyclists target ladies in new wave of theft

By LEONARD KULEI

Sunday, June 29th 2014 

Models re-enact how boba boda ridding thugs snatch bags from pedestrians. The new way of crime is gradually on the rise in Nakuru town. [PHOTO: BONIFACE THUKU/STANDARD]

NAKURU COUNTY: The confidence which motorbike cyclists, commonly known as “boda bodas”, had gained from the public is slowly losing its sheen as a new wave of crime gains notoriety.

Our investigation has revealed a shrewd crime in Nakuru with worrying statistics of people robbed of their valuables while police remain clueless and many incidents go unreported. Robbers conspire with some boda boda operators, who amid the thrilling speed, they handbags and other items from innocent pedestrians, mostly ladies.

This happens within a twinkle of an eye, leaving victims confused and traumatised as the robbers vanish.

The crime is well planned, choreographed and executed that before a victim realises she has been robbed, the perpetrators will have fled. Catherine Mkusu, 28, a victim says she was recently robbed of her handbag as she strolled with a friend along the busy Kenyatta Avenue.

CHILLING REALITY

“I was walking along the street with a colleague when a motorbike slowed down near us and before I could turn to give way thinking that a passenger wanted to alight, the guy in the passenger seat snatched my handbag and they took off,” says Mkusu, a student at a local university.

The incident 6:30pm incident saw Mkusu also lose her laptop, phone and money. Though she raised alarm attracting the attention of passers-by, the perpetrators vanished as no one took the registration particulars of the motorbike.

The tale of motorbike robbery has left many ladies in Nakuru town cautious. It is a chilling reality of falling prey to a people so much entrusted with the easing mobility within the town.

Beatrice Wangari, a victim was met with a violent bang on the head that left her for the dead. She lost all her valuables and money leaving her stranded since she did not even have fare back home. She narrated her ordeal to passers-by who were not convinced by her account of events. However, she borrowed a phone and contacted a friend who sorted her out. “ I thank God I got home safely but I am yet to find my Identity card and other documents,” says Wangari.

ANOTHER VICTIM

These criminals are so ruthless and swing into action so swiftly that they rarely miss their target.

Miriam Tamey, another victim, wonders the audacity of the muggers who robbed her minutes after withdrawing money from an ATM machine. She notes that the two had been following her and they also parked their motorbike alongside her vehicle.

The duo, she says, unleashed their mission even as two armed police officers manning the bank watched from a distance.

Unnoticed, the robbers had been tracking her for a while. She says she tried to resist but she was overpowered by the man and was left wailing having lost Sh15,000. “They were so close to my car when I returned from the ATM. They seemed to have calculated their move as one sprung and pulled my hand bag off my arm. I was left desperate,” says Tamey.

She says one man was holding the motorbike ready to accelerate while the decoy passenger, both in helmets and reflector jackets, sat impatiently.

“The one who snatched my bag sat impatiently all the time since I left the ATM. I didn’t suspected anything since I knew police officers were around the facility,” she recounts. Sadly, majority of such cases go unreported. Majority of victims say they prefer to suffer in silence since reporting to police would see them incur more loses to procure investigation. However, police crime statistics in possession of The Standard on Sunday indicate only 1,130 crimes were reported in March.

With only four cases pending under investigations and another 100 pending before court , the report prepared by Nakuru OCPD Benard Kioko further reveals another 750 cases of crime have were finalised in the same month.

According to Kioko, stealing, which the boda boda form of crime falls under among other thefts, only reported 20 cases. He notes a decline in crime in Nakuru saying that the progress is impressive and caled on members of the public to report similar cases to assist the police carry out its mandate well. “We are doing very well. Recording 20 cases in such big town indicates an impressive performance by the police. People should report such new wave of theft.

The police will never relent in executing its duties,” says Kioko. He adds such cases have not yet been reported to the police. He calls on members of the public and victims to be swift in reporting the cases to avoid false accusations often pointed at police inefficiencies.