Why some Kalenjin politicians are now fleeing UDA. Shocking | Kenya news

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Heard About Regular Hijackings And Rape On Kenyan Roads?

One of the things that has gone terribly wrong with the mainstream media in our beloved country is that they deliberately hold back a lot of information from Kenyans. Some of it would save lives or help many Kenyans stay safe. It seems that the policy is NOT to cause panic.

Inside a Coast bus similar to the one that was hijacked by gunmen in harrowing incident on the Nairobi Mombasa Road. (Read the story HERE. Be warned. The graphic nature of this tale may be upsetting.)

Let me give you an excellent example of what I am talking about. Statistics show that every day the Kenya police receive at least half a dozen reports of hijackings of public transport vehicles by gun totting thugs. Hardly any of these cases are reported in the media. In a significant number of these cases female passengers are raped. (Read this harrowing Kumekucha exclusive of a hijacking early last year on a Mombasa-bound bus where torches were used to examine women’s private parts before rape.)

Some of the routes most notorious for hijackings are the Nairobi-Kisii route and the Nairobi-Mombasa route.

We are already in the holiday season and you can be sure that these incidents are bound to go up as the concerned parties look for cash for Christmas. What precautions are the Kenya police taking to keep Kenyans safe? Are the numerous Police checks and road blocks all over the country as efficient in smoking out gun-carrying passengers as they are in collecting 50 bob notes from every public transport vehicle that passes their route? A Kumekucha informant was in a bus late at night recently and saw a policeman who was NOT a traffic cop receive cash from a matatu (so all cops now take cash from public transport vehicles and not just the traffic police.) The same informant witnessed the vehicle he was traveling in defying an order by the police to stop and speeding on. The driver quipped “Huyo amekula mia saa hii anataka nini tena?” (That one has taken a bribe of Kshs 100 just now what else does he want?).

As usual Kenyans are on their own. So my dear Kumekuchans please take the necessary precautions as you travel during this festive season. Avoid traveling at night. (be careful about early morning as well because there have been recent reports of early morning hijackings on major highways and even within Nairobi. Mercifully these incidents hardly ever involve the rape of passengers)

Secondly be very observant in the vehicle you are traveling in. Look out for young innocent-looking guys carrying big bags. Sometimes they communicate on cell phones telling somebody their exact locations. Usually Hijackings will be executed with some gang-members in the vehicle while their colleagues are on the route somewhere ready to ambush. Those in the bus or matatu then ask to be dropped off exactly where their colleagues are waiting.

Do have a safe holiday season and thank you for being part of the rapidly growing Kumekucha family.

Are you in Kenya or would you like to work in Kenya? Choose from plenty of Kenyan jobs available at this site.

Dream beach holidays near Mombasa this Christmas.

31 comments:

  1. Chris,
    A failed nation doesn't have to flot in any exams.

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  2. Chris,

    Maybe the time for Kumekucha contributors and fans to carry hidden cameras has come. We can catch some of these sleazy characters in the act.

    Carry that camera, guys!

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  3. Thanks for the warning. But my question is this; Why would anyone rape a stranger? In a bus? Aren't there women in their hoods?

    Anyway, my position about the Kenyan 'failure' has always been that it is deeply rooted on the societal rot we live in. Even if we elected Ndingi mwana'a Nzeki, Mwalimu Taabu or Nelson Mandela as our President,we would continue being a terribly failed nation. Yes, until that time when we are ready to re-examine our values as individuals and to preach those values in the society.
    Think about this, in 2003, after Mwai Kibaki's election as President, we were united in saying NO to any form of graft, right? Those were the days when we would frog-march corrupt police officers to the nearest newsroom and demand their immediate firing. What really changed? Why did we go back to our old habits of giving bribes?

    Since this blog is visited by individuals who pride themselves as the official spokesmen of President Obama, who are always quick to depict themselves as the real Obama fans, why don't we EMBRACE what he stands for? Why don't we take note of his increasingly gramophous message that change starts from bottom-up and not the other way round? If you think about it, the state of our country is as bad as our character. I do not understand why we think it's cool decrying corruption in government (look at this post, the blame appears to be on the police officer and not the driver who gave out the Kshs 100) when we are ourselves givers of bribes?

    If we are honest, 99% of us will acknowledge having bribed at one time or another. Ninety nine fucking percent! What that means is we will continue having the Rutos and the Saitotis of this world as our leaders because we are the pool from which the country will draw its future leadership. Those not so lucky like Kalamari will end up being that Policeman who way-lays motorists at the Machackos junction and robs them....softly. One of those Anonymous fellows will the rapist wearing a black mask and wielding a simi in that Kisii-bound bus.

    Fellow Kenyans, let us choose to change course. Stand, not just for what you believe in, but also what is right. Next time that HR guys asks for Kitu kidogo without telling you how the interview went, throw all decorum out of the window, rush to nation centre and demand they cover the story. The guy will not only be fired coz of the negative publicity he attracted the company, but that will deter those others wenye tabia kama yake. We can only change how this country operates by changing the fellows who live in our skins.

    And of course this is not an expert opinion by any standard. Just an opinion.

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  4. The East African Standard today reports that some 16 recalled diplomats have refused to return to Kenya. Seriously, what kind of government is this?

    This is the type of stuff that you cannot make up.

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  5. Vikii,
    YES WE CAN (na nini/nani?) You said:

    ....Next time that HR guys asks for Kitu kidogo without telling you how the interview went, throw all decorum out of the window, rush to nation centre and demand they cover the story......

    It is not that simple lil bro. You make a seen and a fool of yourself running along Kimathi St (Nation Centre) only for the culprit to pay off the scribe. And what is more, it depends on WHO/WHAT you are and what blood runs in the veins of sinner and reporter. Nonetheless I get you loud and clear-WE MUST WALK THE TALK NOW.

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  6. Sam Okello,

    I don't need a camera to catch criminals in the act; what I want is Criminal Justice Reform, especially in areas like youth crime prevention, how to deal with persistent offenders and a change of how we deal with victims and witnesses.

    Vikii, You're my hero. That's precisely what we need! (Vikii for presidency!!)

    I know someone of you like to urgue Crime is related to poverty but I beg to differ. I have been to Uganda, a much poorer country even by African standard but yet the crime rate is very low, I tried to figure out why but still am not sure why.

    I guess us in Kenya we need to look at our moral values as a society and see where we're going wrong.
    Remember 'Virtues are what is good about us'

    So let's embrace Values that Nurture us.
    e.g
    •Integrity
    •Responsibility
    •Perseverance
    •Humility
    •Contentment- Inner Bliss. Peace of mind. Self Knowledge.
    ... etc etc.

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  7. Vikii,

    The sad reality is that I would actually be the lucky one if I assumed the character in your adventure story. I mean, who doesn’t really want to be a cop in Kenya today. Even the hardship of two families sharing a one bedroom studio with no windows or plumbing has its advantages (swingers may apply).

    You see, above all else, money included, peace of mind is the most sought after commodity in Kenya. To leave point A walking towards point C with no worry of what will happen to your dear life at point B is priceless. It’s only a crooked cop who can walk down River Road at 1PM without a shirt and with absolutely no fear. Such is the luxury enjoyed by Kenyan cops.

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  8. "Chriso"
    don't worry man! by 2030 we will be a middle income nation no one will be hijacked and raped on our roads anymore

    only 22 more years stupid!

    until then, let us remember that we Kenyans are the success story of Africa, governed by 2 PhDs(Dr.Kibaki&Dr.Raila), we are sovereign and we fund 95% of our economy from our own budget and we have been to hell and back(PEV 2007) with peace to show for it-what do a few regular hijackings and the habitual rape on road have to do with our development?

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  9. e-change

    poa bro. we hear you. there's still much hope.

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  10. Kwale said:

    ........I have been to Uganda, a much poorer country even by African standard but yet the crime rate is very low, I tried to figure out why but still am not sure why.....

    C'mon Bw Kwale you didn't look hard enough to see why. FYI Ugandans are not INDUSTRIOUS and by African stds their sense of enterpreneurship is nil.

    Southern Sudan used to be a paradise until INDUSTRIOUS Kenyans invaded it. Before then you could find a lost phone where you dropped it a week later. So Bw Kwale progress and devpt mean different things to different people. Just as Tz too worry of our AGGRESSIVENESS. We exported bank robbery there and still spreading it further south to Mozambique. Sisi ndiyo wenyewe.

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  11. Kenyans, repent. Your love for money will make that beautiful nation turn into a Gommora.

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  12. E-Change,

    I admire your rosy forecast. I too believe that if we wait long enough, Jesus will come back.

    About this successful country business; last I heard, Kenya was the 22nd poorest nation on the entire earth. If the 21 poorer countries are not all in Africa, a continent of 54 countries, how do you qualify the statement “we Kenyans are the success story of Africa”? I bet we are at the bottom percentile of the African poverty index.

    Hey, I love my country too but I think we have this pride thing a little bit distorted. I think that because we are surrounded by a banana farm (Uganda), a forest (Tanzania), a firing range (Ethiopia), a missile test site (Sudan) and pirate’s cave (Somalia) we think we are New York.

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  13. UrXlnc,
    hope is all we've got ama?but what good is cheerfulness when people are eating airburgers?

    Kalamari,
    are we 22nd poorest nation on earth from the top or from the bottom? for example if we are 22nd poorest because the top 5 richest people in kenya are not among top 100 of the world's richest people's list we're not doing too badly then are we?
    However i suspect the case is reverse i.e. 22nd poorest because 1% in kenya are the richest people and over half of us live under $1 a day

    anyway even in "NewYack" as Kenyans pronounce it "mugging" or street crimes that may involve violence are a way of life and it is not uncommon for the people that live and work there to go about their daily business carrying defensive weapons for protection from assailants

    Kalamari,we Kenyans are the success story of Africa-we are not among the top 5 poorest countries in Africa but neither are we among the 10 richest countries in Africa-tuko hapo hapo tuu which is an achievement in itself-do you know how hard it is to be neither the best nor the worst just average?

    celebrate our PhD's bro-Dr.Kibaki&Dr.Raila;the dynamic duo showing the rest of Africa how its done

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  14. Hapa Kalamari umetoboa. "
    "we are surrounded by a banana farm (Uganda), a forest (Tanzania), a firing range (Ethiopia), a missile test site (Sudan) and pirate’s cave (Somalia) we think we are New York."- I have no more ribs, ha! ha! ha!
    We kenyans trully have misplaced pride. We compare ourselves with the worst and seem to think we are the best. Lakini hiyo maabo ya ku-victimise women because their anatomy makes them susceptible si poa. Sometimes I wonder if things would have been different if men's anatomy works against them and for once make them rapable. May be there would be a sense of fear, ama? Na hawa watu ni washenzi aje?- Since when were STD's diagnosed via smell? Wapumbavu hawa, may they rot in hell.
    Then there is the policeman who would inflict more pain on the victim if she dared report the incident. Hii Kenya kweli ina vichaa!!!

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  15. What is all this violence about in ODM elections? Must they baptise each party activity with violence and blood? Is it a party policy to attract all the village and slum hooligans?

    No wonder Raila has been begging Mungiki leadership to join this movement of thugs!!!

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  16. E-Change

    You have forgotten another Daktari Kalonzo.

    When evrything else fails...HOPE is the only thing we have got.

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  17. Folks,

    Yeah, we take this pride thing too far. If you take time to do a little research you will find that the daily calorie intake by Ugandans is much higher than that of Kenyans.

    There is a lot of food there, and if real free trade was allowed across the border, maybe we would not be having food riots this side of the border.

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  18. Hallo ivy daughter of Samia,
    long time no see/hear/speak
    welcome back

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  19. This is why it was expensive to have MO1 and jomo as presidents.....kibaki and his 2007 fiasco made us forget that we are a third world country going to fourth world status.
    For a long time we believed that we were tough, that we 'survived' tyrants. The reality is that we are a failed state. As a country we are toast, only God can save us
    it will be nothing short of a miracle to get out of this and 22yrs is realistic and not a joke only 22 yrs from now thats is if we do not do another 2007.
    problem is we are growing old and for most of us by the time kenya wil be sort of getting it righ we will be 6feet under.

    Sir Alex

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  20. Meanwhile KRA is busy destroying cars that it can't afford to.......me thinks mp elections should be held every 2.5yrs we need to be able to recall this bustards sooner than 5yrs I'm ready to go to the streets for that......now some ambassadors are refusing to be recalled ati they made a deal to serve 8 yrs....with whom did they make this deal? Did they make this deal with wanaanchi?
    So they can continue with pointless parties and wasting tax payers money instead of looking for opportinities for kenyans....ati they made a deal...
    jamani tumerogwa.

    Sir Alex

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  21. Ivy,

    Where have you been?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Kwale said:

    ........I have been to Uganda, a much poorer country even by African standards but yet the crime rate is very low, I tried to figure out why but still am not sure why.....

    Kwale, for a person like you to make a comment like this is not surprising, you have been refusing to listen.

    The crime rate in Kenya is very high because a certain 22% of the Kenyan population believe in their so called "industrous", "hardworking" and "enterprising" ways which are actually nothing but FRAUD, DECEPTION and THEFT.

    Whenever this certain 22% percent part of the Kenyan population export their so called "industrous", "hardworking" and "enterprising" ways to other countries, the crime rate shoots up through the roof - as we have seen them doing in Tanzania, Mozambique and elsewhere.

    That, Kwale, is the bitter PLAIN TRUTH and if you listened, now you Know why.

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  23. Ivy,
    How can you DARE board a matatu as an new Kenyan ENVOY enroute to NY/London/EU? But don't count your chicks yet because the present officers are their own bosses. Now you see what it takes to have so-called CAREER ambassadors as evident in Muthaura. Kenyans are synonymous with IMPUNITY. So who is the boss? Surely, rape comes in different shades and shapes.

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  24. Taabu and Anon 1.58,

    I have also been to Brazil, a crime-hot spot country that is neither rich nor poor. Infact Brazil is listed as a third world country and at the same time as the top 20 richest nations in the world. Very contracting, but Brazil has serious problems with crime especially in all major cities. Crimes includes drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion, murder for hire, fraud, human trafficking, corruption, and black marketing. And this is one country despite having the largest black population outside Africa, (only after Nigeria) THERE ARE NO KENYANS known to be living in Brazil.

    Another country is Jamaica (never been); with no known INDSTRIOUS Kenyans living there even visitors, but it is known to be the crime capital of the world. Additionally, there have been frequent allegations of police corruption and brutality and despite more executions (death penalty), Jamaica remains a very dangerous country especially around the capital Kingston.

    So, before you spread your propaganda that Kenya is exporting criminals get facts first!

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  25. Kwale,
    Not so fast. Who knows in no time our ASSETS will be in the streets of Sao Paulo and Kingstone. And I couldn't fault you. You KNOW Brazil better and their beuties playing beach football. I only wonder if you went there for the right reason. And FYI the language barier (Portuguese) is a definite hindress in commerce/export, ama?

    That said our FAILED STATE is smarting from FAILED institutions. Look, corruptuion and crime is everywhere including US of A. The difference lies in Governor Rod Blagojevich of Chicago being arrested and not setting up local triburnal to whitewash evil.

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  26. Anon @1:58 am: Should we take your statement below seriously, or is it just another one of your characteristically mindless, idiotic blabbering?


    "The crime rate in Kenya is very high because a certain 22% of the Kenyan population believe in their so called "industrous", "hardworking" and "enterprising" ways which are actually nothing but FRAUD, DECEPTION and THEFT.

    Whenever this certain 22% percent part of the Kenyan population export their so called "industrous", "hardworking" and "enterprising" ways to other countries, the crime rate shoots up through the roof - as we have seen them doing in Tanzania, Mozambique and elsewhere."

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  27. Taabu

    Crime being everywhere doesnt mean that we should tolerate it in Kenya. This is the attitude of our politicians. When I was a kid my dad used to ask me my results after every test and exam. I would answer lets say 69%. He would scold me and I would defend myself by saying that I was the third or fourth best in the class. This would earn me a slap and a lecture about how he didnt care about the others, it was about MY results.
    The same applies here. We are a failed country. The sooner we accept it and try to find urgent measures to heal the better it is. Sio ati even US of A or I dont know which country has crime.
    We need to call for reforms of the police force, with better pay, housing, more officers, retraining, equipment etc. Our police force is rotten thats a fact, and when policemen are criminals and kenyans see no difference between them and the thugs crime will continue to thrive. Our politicians have their priorities f*cked up. How else would you explain the MP for Lang'ata driving into Africa's largest slum in a convoy of the latest SUVs and the poor cheer him on and fight and kill for him? Or the MP for Othaya having mungiki behead people in his backyard? Or destroying 700 cars at the port when we are one of the poorest countries of the world?

    Something has got to be done this is just not right.

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  28. Anon 4:06 AM,

    Anon @1:58 am again,

    Yes you should take the statement seriously as it is a FACT. It is the TRUTH, however bitter, disappointing and heartbreaking it is to you.

    Just to jog your "refusing to acknowledge the TRUTH" memory:
    over 70% of all inmates in Kenyan jails who have landed there as a result of being found guilty of carjackings, robberies, fraud, conning and other related CRIMES are from this "22%" community - talk of "industrous", "hardworking" and "enterprising" ways! Phew!! FRAUD, DECEPTION and THEFT is more like it.

    More jogging of your "refusing to acknowledge the TRUTH" memory? There are many examples. Let me just use one: In Tanzania the escalating cases of robberies, carjackings, bank robberies have been found to be committed by foreigners and surprise, surprise names such as Mwangi, kamau, Ndungu, Njoroge e.t.c keep on popping up. Need I say more? No. Everything is self explanatory.

    Again, get it thru your thick skull, this is not mindless, idiotic blabbering? IT IS THE TRUTH. THE COLD HARD TRUTH. Pole if it touches a raw nerve in you, you simply invited upon yourself.

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  29. Anon 5.37,

    Given you told us the other day you "faced the knife" in 1973, don't you think at your age you should reason a bit more rationally like a matured man than a juvenile. Or you forget we don't know your are the same buffon that post as "msema kweli"?

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  30. Anon 5:49 AM,

    The TRUTH is the TRUTH and I can see it is really HURTING you. Pole sana.

    No amount of insults, deceptive change of subject or character assassination will change that.

    As for arguing with you? I think it would be a waste of time. I would rather take a nap. Remember the saying: Never argue with a FOOL, people might not notice the difference? This applies in your case, I would be greatly ashamed to be equated to you in any way.

    And before I forget, stop this obsession with the male genital organ - Kwani you want to eat it? It is totally irrelevant.

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  31. before some of the bloggers forget that their comments might inspire to leadership or disappoint to suicide.let's agree crime has reached an alarming rate such that I was mugged in the midle of the CBD at 2:00pm seriously then some to gun totting policemen asked where the thugs went then lamented that if they ran then there was no point of looking for them?Ati?If you want to feel secure in this country today carry a gun!It's so dihaertening that our 'pals,brothers,cousins close family members etc'are the one's commiting this horrendous crimes and times we know but we let the go scot free!!I've vowed to be a one man cop for the society we live in.Don't let this guys breed,we should kill all their offsprings and their eggs before they hatch into deadlier animals.

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