Woman’s courage that is worth emulating

On Wednesday afternoon on my way to Karen, I boarded a matatu number 111 on Ngong Road.

The vehicle had three young men carrying manila papers in plastic paper bags and behaving rather oddly. They were later joined by an older man at the Dagoretti Corner bus stage.

After much observation, I noticed they were up to no good. They were pickpockets who were using the ‘seat belt routine’ where they would ask passengers to buckle up, pretend to assist them and then rob them in the ensuing commotion.

They were also asking those seated near windows to open them, a common technique used to distract the victim.

My wife often uses this route and has raised this issue several times so I suspect they are the same individuals she’s spotted.

She had mentioned that they operate at about the same time, between noon and early afternoon when traffic is at its lightest. They often board matatus around the Prestige Plaza bus stage and alight after the Saint Marks Church bus stop.

What impressed me, however, was a young woman who dared expose them and proceeded to argue while braving their crude insults and warnings to keep her mouth shut. She remained defiant as she warned the man seated next to her that he might be robbed.

Threat to kill

The woman did not flinch when the angry thieves threatened to beat and kill her. They were quite brazen as they talked about getting a gun and shooting her the next time they met.

To be honest, I kept my mouth shut the entire time as did the rest of the passengers and the matatu crew, who I believe had been paid not to act. Some passengers even opted to alight well before arriving at their destinations.

Only after the thugs disembarked did we start a discussion on how crime was on the rise.

What I realised is that if all of us had stood up to these well-known crooks, they would no longer operate with such impunity.

What the woman did might be described as foolish because she could have been harmed, but it was also exceedingly brave.

We often say that someone should do something about stemming rising crime, but we never want to be that person. Kudos to that woman and I hope that by shedding light on these hooligans, they’ll soon be arrested.

{Peter Michael Mutai, via e-mail}