Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Monday flagged a new wave of insecurity in Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD), citing an alarming rise in attacks targeting members of the public.
Sonko took to his interactive X page, where he claimed criminal gangs armed with crude weapons were operating openly in the CBD, preying mostly on women.
“Cases of thugs using crude weapons like knives, machetes, and real and toy guns to steal from unsuspecting members of the public within the CBD have become rampant. Their main target is women,” Sonko stated.
The former county boss proceeded to urge the National Police Service to intervene in the alarming trend to restore public safety in the busy capital. Sonko specifically called for the arrest and prosecution of suspects believed to be behind the wave of street-level attacks.
Sonko's appeal came in reaction to a disturbing incident involving a woman, who took to social media to narrate how she narrowly escaped a mugging along Kimathi Street.
In a separate video, the woman recounted how she was trailed by several individuals bearing weapons in broad daylight before eventually fending them off by seeking help.
“I had not looked behind me; I was being followed. I was so shaken; I went to a loading bay and requested an Uber. I informed the Uber driver that I was being followed by some suspicious people and that I needed to pick up dinner before going. The Uber driver told me it has been happening for quite some time,” the woman said in the video.
Security within the Nairobi CBD has come under sharp focus in recent weeks, particularly after a video went viral a week earlier showing a group of unidentified individuals storming Nanak House opposite Sarova Stanley Hotel and targeting several business outlets.
In a concerted bid to restore calm, the NPS attributed the goon attack targeting several businesses to a business dispute, saying the fracas was of a civil nature.
According to NPS spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga, the narrative of a "worrying state of insecurity" within the city centre was not necessarily accurate, and the Sunday incident was an isolated one which was not politically motivated.
"Following a careful analysis of the incident that took place on Friday, 22nd August 2025, at Nanak House, detectives have ascertained certain facts. These point to a deliberate attack on four businesses within the said building, which appears to be linked to an internal dispute of a civil nature, a matter that is already before the court," the NPS said in their statement.
Despite the incident, the NPS reiterated that the Nairobi CBD remained one of the most secure areas to conduct business, particularly because the city centre was a renowned commercial hub.
