Amid screams and shouts, the attackers calmly stroll away, unbothered.A chilling video of a broad-daylight robbery in Nairobi’s Central Business District has once again laid bare the worsening insecurity that continues to rattle city residents.
The clip, recorded from a vantage point on Tom Mboya Street near Tuskys, shows a gang of young men—some armed with batons—walking past a bus stage before suddenly pouncing on unsuspecting pedestrians.
Amid screams and shouts, the attackers calmly stroll away, unbothered.
The incident comes despite police reporting at least 80 arrests in an ongoing crackdown on a new wave of muggers.
Instead of deterring the criminals, however, the arrests appear to have emboldened them.
Accounts shared on social media paint a grim picture of the gang’s tactics.
Victims say some attackers, believed to be street children, have resorted to using human waste to intimidate people before robbing them.
Others claim to have been threatened with pocket knives or with being injected with unknown substances.
Other victims allege that some thugs disguise themselves as content creators, approaching passersby with small cameras before suddenly brandishing knives or blunt objects.
“To all my followers and those watching this video, be careful because phones are being stolen in the CBD. People have complained that their phones have been stolen while in a matatu or while they were alighting,” one social media user warned.
The public outcry prompted the Nairobi County Government and the National Police Service to announce a joint operation, which led to the 80 arrests.
Central Police Commander Philomon Nyakombo, however, downplayed the scale of the incidents, saying officers respond to individual cases rather than the widespread attacks being reported online.
“Cases are unique and we act upon them as individual cases, not collectively. The only common areas are around Archives, Galitos and Kimathi Street. Beyond that, there’s no story,” Nyakombo told reporters on Thursday.
Even as Nairobi grapples with the menace, similar reports of gang-style daylight robberies are emerging from Malindi, heightening fears that the trend is spreading.
