Pickpockets consider themselves the best of petty crime. They combine human psychology and skills, spurred on by their itchy fingers.
The irritating thing is that they don’t drug you or get you drunk to execute their tricks.
It’s just feather-smooth fingers when your mind drifts away; sometimes, the victim is new in a place where the crooks frequently operate.
Their prowess comes in full force inside matatus, buses, railways stations, ferries and busy places not only in the capital city but also other major towns, where they target cash and valuables such as smartphones.
As a result, the vice that is common in Nairobi, has left many people in pain after losing their valuables.
Businessman Anthony Kibe knows their menace very well. In December, he fell victim to pickpockets on the way to the city centre from Donholmn stage along Manyanja Road in Nairobi.
“I was approached by young conductor who escorted me to board their 14-seater matatu that was charging Sh20 from Donholmn stage,” he explains.
“About four passengers had boarded it. The conductor directed me to seat at the front since it had only one passenger and driver, the passenger who had boarded ahead of me moved so that I can occupy the seat at the front door,” Kibe adds.
When he boarded, the matatu left towards the city centre but after barey 10 metres, the driver slowed down and told the passenger that the front door was faulty, making him stretch his hand to close it.
He recalls a passenger at the centre did assist and minutes, later the conductor shouted that someone had signalled him that one of them had dropped a mobile phone.
“I touched my pockets and discovered my phone was missing. In shock, I told them to stop. I only realised after alighting that it was trick to fool me and the matatu had sped off,” he says.
This is the same ordeal Rebecca Nduta underwent after boarding a minibus matatu in Roysambu. But in this case, the pickpockets used a different trick on her, stealing her Sh15,000 in the process.
“It was minibus and I was in hurry to buy some items in Ngara. That day I was seated between two men. As I was alighting, a man on my left kept pretending to be giving way and returning to the same position until the conductor intervened,” she narrates.
It was after alighting that Kerubo discovered that the passenger she was seated next to had confused her, then reached inside her handbag and pinched the cash.
Nairobi private investigator Mike Odero says the vice has been evolving over time.
He says matatus plying Kenyatta Hospital, Thika Road, Mombasa Road and Langata Road are notorious for pickpocketing crimes.
He says of late, several cases have been reported in other towns, adding some of the pickpockets could have moved from Nairobi after becoming marked men on the various routes.
