When begging becomes lucrative ‘hustle’ on Nairobi street

Begging on the streets of Nairobi and other cities in the country has become a lucrative fulltime venture that has attracted foreigners to cash in on the generosity of Kenyans.

Beggars have invaded Nairobi streets and other major towns, posing as destitute and disabled with no means to eke out a living in order to attract the sympathy of generous Kenya.

Interestingly, the begging ‘hustle’ has become a lucrative fulltime job that has attracted foreigners, mainly Tanzanians, leading to a rise in the population of street beggars.

Residents of Nairobi say the number of people using these tricks to earn money has increased significantly in the past five years. And many have been surprised to learn that even people from across the borders have been flocking to the country to beg on the streets.

"I was shocked to learn that people from Tanzania are coming to beg in the country. This is an abuse of the generosity of Kenyans," says Calvin Missingo, a resident of Komarock in Nairobi.

A man we found begging on Hail Sellasie Avenue admitted that he is a Tanzanian national, and is in the country to enjoy the generosity of Kenyans.

Mr Missingo noted that minors and disabled are deployed to the streets to appeal to the emotions of hard-working Kenyans to make donations to them.

"It is a curse to treat children with such brutality," says Mr Missingo.

"Although not all use tricks to beg on the streets, it has been revealed that some people pretend to be disabled, stranded, or in need of money for medical treatment abroad.

"And even some of the genuine disabled cases begging on the streets of the city do not benefit from the money they collect.

Most of them are deployed to the streets to beg on behalf of gangs who pocket the money once beggars retire in the evening.

A man we met near the Ambassador Bus stage said that he was begging for money for another person.

"He takes all the money that people give me. He only buys me food," he told the Nation. Africa, adding that the beneficiary, who he refused to name, doesn’t work.

"He brings me to the city at dawn and picks me up in the evening. We depend on the money given to us by the good Samaritans for our needs," he said.

The man said he earns between Sh1,000 and Sh3,000 in a day.

More fraud

In our investigation, we followed a man we found begging in Nairobi’s Central Business District to the Congo area in Kawangware, where we found him making merry in a club. Those who know the guy were surprised when we told them that begs in the city.

"No. This guy tells us that he is a driver in a company located at the Industrial Area," said a man who was at the pub.

When begging, the man brandishes posters explaining how he has failed to get money to pay for medical treatment abroad, something that touches many people who donate cash to him.

Other than those who pretend to be sick and disabled, there is another group of smartly dressed people who roam the streets of the city pretending that they have lost fare to take them to their destinations.

These people stop people and ask them for help while speaking gently to be pitied. They can beg one person even ten times! And that’s their hustle.

"They have become a nuisance to city residents and visitors. They collect a lot of money from people who sympathise with them," says Juma Ndeta, who says that there is a man who used to ask him for help along Harambee Avenue in Nairobi every day claiming that he had been robbed.

"When I found out that he was a fraud, I scolded him. From that day, I have not seen him again. He probably moved elsewhere," says Mr Ndeta a public relations officer in a city-based company.

Mr Ndeta says those taking advantage of Kenyan generosity are growing rapidly in major cities and towns.

Women pawning children

According to Mr Ndeta, the government should take legal action against women who send their children to beg for money on city streets.

The women target areas near supermarkets and send their children to ask for money from shoppers. Others put young children at risk by guiding them to beg from drivers while in traffic jams.

In one incident near the Naivas Supermarket at the junction of Kenyatta and Moi Avenues, we witnessed a woman pinch a five-year-old girl for failing to get money from passers-by. "You will not eat today," she shouted at the girl who was crying.

"These children should be in school but their parents send them to beg and earn money. It is something that the government should investigate and take action against those involved," says Ndeta.

For some people in the city, that has become an official hustle.