Residents of Nairobi and its environs have been warned to stay vigilant due to the rise in criminal activities in the city.
Security and risk management experts, SF Group, issued an advisory to citizens on Thursday over the recent insecurity concern.
They said opportunist crimes are likely to spike as we head into the festive season when Kenyans will be preoccupied with the festivities.
“Threat of opportunist crime likely to increase ahead of the festive season, including a heightened risk of burglary of unoccupied residences as the holidays approach,” they said.
However, they said Kenyans should expect to see enhanced security surveillance and policing as authorities respond.
“Further operations targeting the boda boda (motorcycle taxi) sector and increased patrol units in urban areas likely in short term,” they said.
They said boda boda riders are the new 'Modus Operandi' for criminals, who use them for surveillance, attacks and gateway means.
This has seen increased daylight attacks in well-populated areas and on congested roads as well as isolated locations and low-traffic routes.
Citizens in Nairobi and other urban areas have been reporting increased threats and use of violence, including stabbings and shootings.
They asked residents to be careful as express armed robbers are targeting individuals leaving ATMs and M-Pesa shops predominantly in Eastlands and the Central Business District (CBD).
“These trends likely to be driven by multiple factors, but include deteriorating socio-economic conditions and under-employment, especially amongst youth, and high availability, low regulation of motorcycles and boda-bodas,” they said.
