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Police chiefs have been burning the midnight oil as they lay elaborate strategies on how to contain the increasing number of robberies and armed attacks across the country by gangs on motorcycles.

Police reports indicate more than 1,500 motorcycle taxi operators have been arrested in the last two months in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, Thika, Nyeri, Machakos, Kisumu, Embu and Kericho after being involved in violent robberies and armed attacks while using their motorcycles.

Across the country, at least 10 deaths have been reported with many survivors left either in a critical condition or with severe injuries.

The robbers have been targeting pedestrians and, in some cases, motorists, especially in Nairobi.

Though outgoing Nairobi regional police boss James Mugera acknowledged the problem almost got out of hand about a month ago, they managed to contain the situation by launching an aggressive crackdown in the city.

According to Mugera, at least 300 boda boda riders suspected to have been involved in various illegal activities have been arrested in the last one month and are still in remand.

“Most of them are young jobless boys looking for quick-to-come-by money,” Mugera told People Daily by telephone.

Riding in pairs

According to him, four deaths resulted from motorcycle gang attacks. Police also recorded at least three incidents involving guns, while most of the others involved knife-wielding attackers.

The police chief said the gangs, riding in pairs, target pedestrians using their phones and those walking alone along deserted streets. Women with handbags and people carrying precious items are also targeted.

Such crimes usually rise in the run-up to the December festivities, when many Nairobians are shopping before travelling for holidays.

Police in the capital have zoned some of the dangerous spots where motorcyclists are most likely to attack victims.

Most of the estates in the Eastlands areas such as Dandora, Kayole, Makongeni, Donholm, Umoja and others in Dagoreti, Kawangware, Kibera and Githurai have become listed as prone to gang attacks.

Police said they recorded at least 200 arrests in Eldoret, 400 in Mombasa, 300 in Nyeri, 300 in Thika and 250 in Kisumu.

Sources blame the increase in the attacks on the disbandment of the infamous Serious Crime Unit (SSU) of the Directorate of Criminal Unit that had launched a country-wide crackdown. There have also been allegations of a go-slow by junior police officers due to criticism from senior politicians.

Cups not money

One of the latest victims of the motorcycle gang attack was Keagan Githua, 24, a resident of Jacaranda Close near Kamiti Prison.

He was stabbed to death near Ridgeways by a gang riding on a motorcycle. The attackers stabbed him in the chest as they tried to rob him of his phone and other items as he was heading home.

“The knife stab inflicted serious injuries to vital organs, which led to his demise a few minutes later,” a family member said.

On October 31, another man was shot dead in Donholm area after robbers mistook disposable cups he was carrying for money. Nicodemus Munyasya, 38, had left a bank after depositing a cheque when two armed men on a motorcycle accosted him and shot him four times in the leg and once in the chest.

“He was in possession of a carrier bag containing two disposable teacups which the robbers thought was money,” police said.

At the scene, police recovered a spent cartridge and the victim’s mobile phone.

Yesterday, DCI detectives arrested a man believed to be the mastermind of the attacks, identified as John Mutiso Makau, alias Katitu. He is believed to be a returnee from al-Shabaab cell in Somalia.

Makau was arrested in Kayole after the arrest of two of his accomplices, Brian Wambua Mbindyo and Danson Musyoka Mulee. He is believed to have been part of the gang that shot Munyasia in Donholm.

Three days before the incident, the suspects had accosted a woman as she left her M-Pesa shop in Umoja estate and shot her in the ankle before taking her handbag which contained an unspecified amount of money.

“Regina Chege, was approaching the gate to her house at around 9.30pm when the thugs on a motorbike struck,” the DCI said.

Police reports also indicate that three people were robbed at the Harambee Avenue and Uhuru Highway junction early last week.

The three, who work at Upperhill, were accosted by a gang of four who were on two motorcycles and armed with pistols, panga and knives.

At least four robbers have also been shot dead during the same period with several others arrested.

In another incident, about three weeks ago, two suspected robbers were shot dead in a botched robbery incident near Yaya Centre in Nairobi.

Police and witnesses said the two were riding a motorcycle and targeting motorists and pedestrians when the alarm was raised.

Officers on patrol responded, leading to a chase towards nearby Lenana Road where they abandoned their motorcycle and tried to escape on foot.

Another suspect on a motorcycle was arrested in Kilimani area after he tried to rob a woman of her mobile phone. According to the police, the woman was walking on Kindaruma Road when she was attacked by Kelvin Ngake, 21. Police on patrol came to her rescue after she screamed for help.

Risk taking

According to security experts, most robberies are committed when the attackers are in close proximity with their target. Since the robbers risk being seen and identified by the victims or even get stuck in a traffic jam while escaping from such scenes, they resort to motorcycles as their mode of getting away from a crime scene.

A research by the National Crime Research Centre in May last year titled Boda Boda Motorcycle Transport and Security Challenges in Kenya revealed that the sector was inadequately regulated, giving incentives for risk taking, recklessness and impunity among operators.

The research found a strong connection between boda boda operators, weak regulation and the siege mentality to increased cases of robberies; causing death by dangerous riding; breach of public order; committing murders; kidnappings and abductions; possession and usage of dangerous drugs; rape and defilement; smuggling of illegal firearms and contraband.

The recent attacks mean that if the nominee for Inspector-General of Police, Japheth Koome, is approved by Parliament, he will have a tough task taming the boda boda menace.