Parts of Lavington, Mathare most unsafe places in Nairobi County: Report
Police Inspector-General David Kimaiyo during the launch of the Nairobi Metropolitan Crime Observatory report on October 15, 2014. The curfew in Lamu County was Tuesday extended by another month. PHOTO | JENNIFER MUIRURI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Congo area near Kawangware was named as a notorious area with arms trafficking, drug abuse, rape, mugging and robberies.
- Murder, Rape carjacking, burglary and domestic violence were also reported to be the most common forms of crime in the city.
Mathare and parts of Lavington are the most unsafe places to be in Nairobi, a new report has revealed.
People who find themselves in Kosovo, City Cotton between Wilson Airport and South C Kiboro Primary School and the area near the Oillibya Petrol Station were likely to be mugged or even killed during the day and at night.
The Nairobi Metropolitan Crime Observatory report released by the Security Research and Information Centre pointed out that the upper section of Gatanga Road between James Gichuru Road and Kawangware and parts of Lavington had been infiltrated by criminals.
The Congo area near Kawangware was named as a notorious area for arms trafficking, drug abuse, rape, mugging and robberies.
In the report, four out of ten people in the Nairobi metropolitan area had fallen victim to crime, with theft being the leading form of the reported crime.
A view of thee Mathare slums in Nairobi on February 18, 2014. An open field in the area where suspected criminals are allegedly lynched has been named "Choma Zone" by residents . FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The forms of theft were fraud, corruption and money laundering, accounting for 38, 23 and 13 per cent, respectively.
“Robbery, murder and carjacking were also the most frequently committed forms of crimes in the city and its metropolitan areas,” the report launched Wednesday by Police Inspector-General David Kimaiyo indicated.
Murder, rape, carjacking, burglary and domestic violence were also reported to be the most common forms of crime in the city.
The report also indicated that when compared to the previous observatory period, robbery cases in Nairobi had gone up from 41 per cent to 47 per cent.
It also indicates that the number of people who report crime to the police has gone down, as compared with the previous years.
“The number of people reporting crime to the police has gone down to 38 per cent from 52 per cent in 2012.
“The drop in reporting crime invariably translates to the loss of confidence in the police service by members of the public,” the report further stated.
SMALL ARMS
It attributed the lack of confidence in the police to inaction, corruption, cost of travelling to the police stations, fear of reprisal from the perpetrators, and members of the public preferring to use alternative mechanisms to resolve disputes.
The study was conducted with support from the government through the National Steering Committee on Peace Building and Conflict Management and the Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and UNDP Kenya.
During the launch of the report, Mr Kimaiyo stated that the proliferation of small arms and light weapons was the greatest challenge in fighting insecurity across the country.
He said the National Police Service was working on improving police mobility by purchasing more vehicles and motorcycles and urged members of the public to embrace the Nyumba Kumi initiative.
“Those who have started … community policing have transformed their areas of residence. They are also able to work with the police by volunteering information,” he said.
