Nairobians raise alarm over daring car theft syndicate targeting specific vehicles

Residents in different parts of Nairobi have raised alarm over escalating car theft cases targeting specific vehicles such as Toyota Axio, Toyota Fielder and Mazda Demio.

Victims of the syndicate, speaking to Citizen TV, revealed a surge in cases of stolen vehicles in what appears to be a co-ordinated scheme involving several gang members.

At 6:30 am on Sunday last week in Nairobi’s Utawala area, CCTV cameras captured a vehicle of a Toyota Axio model, registration number KDD 969T being driven away by unknown person(s).

The owner, Joseph Magero, raised alarm when he woke up to find his car gone; he had parked it right outside his apartment at 11pm on Saturday.

A different CCTV camera on a neighbouring building captures the vehicle being driven at high speed at 6:32am, two minutes after it was captured leaving the parking lot, before joining a road heading to Chokaa area of Kayole.

That was the last time it was seen; the tracking device installed had been disabled

Magero reported the matter at Kayole Police Station hoping the investigators will help track and recover his car, in vain.

A few kilometres away in the neighbouring area of Jacaranda, Bururuburu sub-county, is a different victim with the same story.

Dennis Atuya narrates how he woke up on Friday last week to an empty parking lot; his Toyota Axio registration number KDK 635T was missing, and the tracker was also subsequently deactivated.

It is now almost a week since he reported the matter at the Buruburu Police Station, and he is yet to hear a word from the officers.

But what has puzzled many is how the syndicate accesses the vehicles, tampers with the ignition, disables the tracking system before making away with the cars.

According to Sikika, a safety campaign organisation creating awareness on road safety, cases of 2-3 stolen cars are reported daily. Recovering the stolen vehicles has seemingly become a toll order for the police.

Jeremiah Nyakweba, a resident of Donholm area lost his Toyota Fielder in March this year; it was never recovered.

“Gari yangu iliibiwa hapa hapa tu kwa gate yangu...nilifuatilia but since then there is nothing...I’m on my own,” he says now.