New Wave Of Dusk Thefts Leaves Nairobi Residents Counting Losses.

A new wave of theft targeting residents of Nairobi’s Eastlands areas of Pipeline, Komarock, Kayole and Umoja has left many people quietly counting losses.The thieves are said to mostly target residents who live in single houses – and who have to step out at dawn to grab a shower in the common bathrooms – before rushing to work.

We have learnt that the criminals often wait until the owner of the house hits the shower, before sneaking into the house to steal.“They will wait until you enter the bathroom, then enter your house and take any valuables they can lay their hands on,” David Makonge, a resident of Pipeline estate who just recently lost his mobile phone and wallet, told us.

“I remember rushing to the bathroom just a few metres from my house as I was getting late for work. I must have taken some 10 minutes in the bathroom, but when I returned to the house, I realised that some of my things were missing,” said Makonge.According to Makonge, he had left the door unlocked, a mistake he says he will never repeat.

It is the same story for Timothy Karanja, a resident of Kayole estate who lost a music sub-woofer and a phone while in the common bathroom.“It happened so fast, just a few minutes after stepping into the bathroom my property was gone,” Karanja told us .”I have a feeling they had studied my movements and were just waiting for an opportunity to pounce, and they did it so well,” added Karanja.

The thieves also target those living on the ground floor of residential houses and have their bathrooms rather exposed – and facing the roadside. This allows them to pick stuff through the window – and walk away unnoticed.

In Nyama Villa estate in Nairobi, a secondary school girl had her mobile phone snatched through the window as she enjoyed a shower while preparing to go to school.“The girl had placed the phone on the edge of the window, and it was playing some music. Suddenly she heard the music stop, and when she tried to look through the soap, she saw a receding hand, holding the phone,” a caretaker in Nyama Villa told us.“The man grabbed the phone from outside given the house is on the ground floor, and the windows do not have grills,” he added.The girl let out a scream, but there was very little she could do given she was in the shower.

The caretaker has since advised the landlord to install metal grills on the windows of all units on the ground floor.Meanwhile, residents have been asked to secure their doors whenever they are stepping out of the house to avoid losing property.

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