Security stakeholders in the country have raised concerns about the increasing crime cases in the country ahead of the festive season.
According to BM Security’s Annual Security Report and Forecast for 2024-2025, incidents of burglary and road accidents, among others, typically spike in December, driven by travel, festive activities, and heightened spending.
Speaking during BM Security’s 40th Anniversary celebrations in Nairobi, the firm’s CEO Michelle Morgan said; “The festive period is a time of celebration, but it also comes with unique security challenges. We advise individuals and businesses to conduct thorough safety checks, remain vigilant, and adopt preventive measures to ensure a safe and joyous season”.
BM Security Analysis for Businesses
The report further highlights that the Kenya’s security landscape in 2024 presented significant challenges for businesses and communities alike.
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“While traditional risks such as crime and terrorism persisted, new dynamics, including politically motivated protests and economic pressures, exacerbated vulnerabilities,” the report adds.
The firm’s Chief of Business Development and Customer Experience, Aston Maungu attributes increased crime rates to unemployment and the economy.
“One type of crime that has been on the rise in the country is armed robbery. The key triggers have been economic stagnation of the country and the unemployment rate within our nation,” Maungu elaborates.
Armed Robbery Trends
The security report also notes that armed robbery data for 2024 is consistent with similar trends from previous years, saying most armed robbery incidents targeted individuals with offender groups of 3-5 assailants.
This asymmetry allows perpetrators to overwhelm the victim and minimize the use of violence, it notes.
In Nairobi for instance, home break-ins were concentrated in Kibra, Langata and Eastlands areas.
As per the report, house break-ins in more affluent neighborhoods of Nairobi such as Westlands and Kilimani resulted in the theft of high value household items and jewelry.
In 2024, Nairobi was the most impacted by burglaries which overwhelmingly target businesses and industrial sites.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), more than 90 burglaries were reported across various areas of Nairobi in 2024.
Small businesses across various estates, the report adds, reported being targeted by criminals. Criminals mainly targeted items deemed to have a readily available after-sale potential including liquor stores, cosmetic stores, and shops offering small quantities of fast-moving consumer goods.
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Commercial Vehicles Targeted
Analysis of incident data in the report reveals that commercial vehicles in transit across the country were frequently targeted by criminal actors.
Common criminal tactics included offenders ambushing trucks and lorries forcing them to stop in order to steal their cargo.
“Similarly, offenders will force a truck to slow in order for the cargo to be looted without actually stopping the vehicle. For instance, in April 2024 a lorry carrying 522 bags of rice was hijacked along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway at Kibwezi area before being abandoned with nothing stolen at a different location,” reveals the analysis.
Outlook for 2025
The analysis predicts that economic stagnation and unemployment are expected to sustain opportunistic and organized crimes in the new year therefore, businesses are being advised to reinforce their security measures particularly during high-risk periods.
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