The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
A bold phone snatcher pried open the window of a moving matatu in Nairobi, grabbed a passenger’s phone, and bolted — only for the victim to leap out of the vehicle in pursuit.
The dramatic scene was captured on video and has since spread widely on social media. Footage shows the suspected thief approaching the window of the moving matatu before quickly forcing it open and snatching the phone from the passenger. He is then seen sprinting away, dodging through other matatus as the vehicle continues moving along the road.
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Determined to recover his phone, the victim climbs out through the same window and chases after the suspect. It remains unclear whether he managed to catch up with the thief or retrieve his stolen device.
The incident adds to a string of ongoing reports of phone snatching across Nairobi, as police continue conducting operations targeting suspected thieves and networks dealing in stolen mobile devices.
In July, the National Police Service acknowledged that phone snatching remains a persistent problem in the city, with criminals often targeting pedestrians and motorists before exploiting Nairobi’s busy streets to make their escape. During that period, police arrested four people in separate operations in Kawangware and around the Nairobi Bus Station, recovering several stolen mobile phones and other electronic devices.
Days earlier, police had arrested five suspects during an operation in Mathare’s Kosovo area, recovering 65 assorted mobile phones, three laptops, and other items believed to have been stolen.
The scale of the illicit trade was further exposed in January, when detectives recovered more than 900 suspected stolen phones within Nairobi’s Central Business District, with the devices reportedly packaged for shipment to Uganda.
In a separate incident in August, police said four men allegedly robbed a passenger of a phone from a moving vehicle in Githurai, sparking a pursuit. One of the suspects was later fatally shot by police, though his family disputed the official account, insisting he had been wrongly implicated.
The latest video has reignited concern over the risks Nairobi residents face while using mobile phones near busy roads and aboard public transport.
