Crime keeps urbanites away from home

Shops were destroyed on Monday at Muthithi trading centre in Kigumo in an attack blamed on Mungiki gangsters. Kigumo is one of the areas in Central Province people fear visiting during the festive season. Photo/ JOSEPH KANYI

Thousands of people are staying away from their rural homes this Christmas for fear of crime.

It is a Kenyan tradition for urban dwellers and those who work away from home to spend Christmas with family in the village, popularly known as “Shags”.

For many Kenyans, family gatherings are an opportunity not just to be with loved ones, but also to send careful signals about how well they are doing in the cities.

Thus, those who do not own a car hire one, shopping is done on a wholesale scale and there is a tendency towards generosity at the village bar.

But this year, these simple Christmas pleasures are denied many working class and well-off people by local gangsters and extortionists, especially in Central Province and parts of the Rift Valley.

It has become almost a tradition for bands of young hooligans to attack homes and terrorise families which have visitors, the assumption being that the visitor must have brought money or gifts.

This nature of crime has become so serious that in parts of Murang’a, Kiambu and Kirinyaga, dowry is no longer paid in cash. Instead, the groom is asked to write a cheque or make a deposit in his would-be in-law’s bank account.

“We are aware relatives, including elderly women, are being robbed soon after their children have left. Gangsters are on the lookout for new faces whose hoes they target,” said Kigumo DC Omar Salat.

Causing fear

Like most areas of the larger Murang’a District, Kigumo is a Mungiki stronghold and the DC warned that other criminals could exploit the sect’s unsavoury reputation.

“Criminals are causing fear. Some have made it a tradition that they “must be seen” before a dowry ceremony can go ahead,” he said.

The gangs are very active this season and specifically target “people from Nairobi”, a phrase describing anyone who does not frequently visit.

“If they do not attack you at dusk, they attack your home when you are gone,” said Mr Kamau Chege of Wethaga location in Kiharu.

Mr Chege has been attacked once and his mother twice after he visited in his new car.

A businessman from Kariguini village in Othaya says he no longer visits his rural home. “I have not gone there for Christmas since 2002. When I go, I sneak in at night and leave at dawn because if they see me, the gangs will come and demand money,” he said.

Instead of his children visiting their grandmother, he takes them to Mombasa and send money to his parents by M-Pesa. “It is quite expensive but it is safer for me and my parents,” he says.

The trader, who asked not to be named, said the gangs seem to have an elaborate intelligence gathering system. “They know who came and who did not. They know who has been doing well financially. Cars are no longer parked outside the gate as wheels are stolen,” he said.

Join forces

The Kenya Alliance of Residents Association (Kara) said its members live in fear.

“There is a lot of fear over there. Some of our members would rather spend the night in a hotel than at home,” said chief executive officer Stephen Mutoro.

Elite urbanites, especially from Central, are “living a lie” by thinking all young people at home have joined Mungiki, he said.

“If they invested some of their money in the youth and engage them directly, then they would have nothing to fear,” said the Kara boss.

Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said poor infrastructure made it difficult to patrol. Visitors and villagers must join forces against crime, he said.

“Let them go home and join hands with the local community and confront the problem. If they do not go, that makes them internally displaced persons,” he said.

The Central provincial administration said it had beefed up security in the Mungiki strongholds of Murang’a, Mathira, Kirinyaga and parts of Othaya.

Police officers on leave have been recalled and all leave suspended until after the holiday.

The General Service Unit has been in the area since the Mathira massacre, where suspected Mungiki members slaughtered 29 villagers.

In Naivasha, Ms Isabella Wanjiku is a sad mother and grandmother. Her children will not be visiting her this season. She has been attacked three times this year after family functions.

“I have told them not to come as I fear another night of terror,” says the elderly businesswoman and church leader. She declined to have her picture taken for fear of reprisals.

After hosting a get-together for her children on New Year’s day last year, her home was raided two days later by nine armed youths demanding cash “in dollars and goodies from America brought by the visitors.” They stole more than Sh20,000 and mobile phones.

And two months ago following a visit by a teenage grandson, more than six thugs stormed her house, demanding money they suspected the boy had brought her.

“Your children drive flashy cars. They must have left you lost of money. Even if you scream, we are used to it,” they threatened. They took Sh3,000 and a mobile phone.

One of her daughters, Rachel Njeri, says this is an outrage. “This is the height of impunity,” she said.

Naivasha police have offered security next time the old woman has visitors, but to how many families can the service be extended?

Small house

Naivasha CID boss Gilbert Makanya told Nation that 24-hour surveillance has been mounted in crime-hit areas.

However, not everyone thinks urban dwellers have legitimate security concerns.

Some say they have no “home to come back to”.

“Some of these fellows drive big cars but do not have even a small house to sleep in,” said Nyeri Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman, Dr Mwangi Macharia.

Reports by Billy Muiruri, Muchiri Karanja and Macharia Mwangi-Daily Nation