Mysterious Tactic Thugs Use to Rob Nairobi Houses at Night

Residents pictured in semi-complete apartments in Nairobi.
Residents pictured in semi-complete apartments in Nairobi.
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On Tuesday, November 17, residents living in an apartment block in Gachie area went to bed with their doors securely locked only to wake up the following morning to find that their houses had been broken into and electronics stolen.

The incident left at least four houses broken into and valuable items stolen as the occupants remained sound asleep through it all.

Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, one of the victims (name withheld) who lives on the first floor of the apartment building disclosed that her smart TV and cell phone were stolen in the incident.

"When I woke up what made me realize what was not right was that my handbag had been moved from the bedroom to the living room," she stated.

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The three-storey building in Utawala, Nairobi where 50 families were robbed at night on Wednesday, November 4, 2020
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What was even more puzzling was that other items that had even more value were left untouched in the robbery.

The affected residents gathered in a common area in the morning with each having no knowledge of how the burglary occurred.

The landlord reported the incident to the police where he was informed that nine other families had been victims of a similar robbery within the past month in the area.

An officer in the area confirmed the burglary incident stating that it was not clear whether the residents had been drugged for the robberies to take place. 

"We cannot say for certain that the residents were drugged until tests are conducted but investigations in the matter are ongoing," the officer stated.

The residents suspect it to be an inside job as when they went to review the CCTV cameras of the night of the burglary, there was no footage available.

The incident was similar to a robbery that occurred in the Utawala area of Nairobi where 50 families woke up to find their electronics stolen in a silent night operation.

The fifty houses, all located in a three-storey flat in an estate in Mihang'o, were broken into with occupants losing household commodities ranging from electronics to clothes. 

"We found our doors wide open. They stole television, money and even ransacked bags. What astounds us is that we had locked our doors before going to bed. We had locked the upper locks and also those at the bottom of the door," one resident lamented. 

It is alleged that the robbers target electronics such as TVs and phones as they have a ready market.

In October 2020, Nairobi Police Commander Rashid Yakub unveiled 169 mobile phones and more than 25 laptops and desktops that had been netted in an operation against thieves in the city.

Burglaries and breakings are the third most common type of crimes reported in Nairobi alongside muggings, according to the 2018 Nairobi Crime Outlook.

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