Gikomba traders blame police inaction for crime wave
ByTraders in Nairobi’s Gikomba market are up in arms following the shooting of one of their colleagues.
Martin Mulwa was accosted by two people while negotiating for goods which he was to sell the following day and shot in the back of his neck after his attackers had robbed him.
He was rushed to Mama Lucy Hospital where he received first aid and then transferred to Kenyatta National Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The traders in the sprawling open air market have as a result expressed concern over rising insecurity in the market especially in the evening when they are about to close their businesses.
They say that most of the muggings in the area are carried out by a group of young men who spend their day time gambling and resort to criminal activity in the evening.
The traders claim that some of the suspected thugs are well-known yet the police has not acted on the report forwarded to them.
“In the past the police used to patrol during the day and in the evening but that has since changed and crime has escalated,” said one trader.