A number of Kenyans have fallen victim to brazen muggings especially in major towns across the country.  While some have paid with their lives, others have lost valuables to bold gangs which attack their targets in broad daylight. 

Laptops, phones, cameras and cash are their main targets of the dangerously armed groups who have become a law unto themselves. Individuals fending for their families late into the day have been left to walk home to face their children deprived while others have been maimed. 

Indeed, a Kenyan who claimed that she works at a hospital in Nairobi said the institution has been dealing with more than seven cases of stabbing daily.  What is most disturbing is the ease with which the gangs kill their victims in case they face resistance. A family in Nairobi’s Ridgeways estate lost their son after two assailants on a motorbike stabbed him to death.

Fingers have been pointed at boda boda riders. This is not the first time the riders have been linked to crime including gang rape.

President William Ruto has ordered the new Inspector-General of Police Japheth Koome to end muggings, cattle rustling and other forms of insecurity. There is talk that police are unwilling to combat crime because of a discreet go-slow occasioned by infighting among the various units.

The officers accuse the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) of intimidation and undermining the work.  They claim that the authority has become increasingly obsessed with punishment.  The officers must, however, decisively deal with these gangs, especially after the police boss reiterated that in normal operations the use of firearms can be necessary and is permitted under specific circumstances such as to protect their lives and those of other people or in self-defence.  There are nearly 2.4 million boda boda riders in the country and according to security experts, their menace has morphed into a threat to national security.

Most robberies are committed in contact manner with the victims and ordinarily, almost all attackers plan crime scene getaway. These robbers risk being seen and identified by the victims or even stuck in a traffic jam while escaping from such scenes.

However, with a helmet, a mask and reflector jacket and a motorcycle, robbers are now having a field day. This should not be allowed to continue. The authorities responsible must rise to the occasion and tame gang attacks, before it is too late.