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Beware thugs lurking near ATMs

He could not tell whether they had been trailing him or they just judged by his looks or by the mere fact that he had emerged from an ATM, that he had money.

His experience is no different from what many residents of Nairobi and other urban dwellers have gone through in the hands of thugs.

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His case is no different from what is experienced by many city residents.

I sought the opinion of security experts and police, with a perspective of helping gullible Kenyans, who may fall victim to such gangs.

– How Kenyans react to strangers in the streets –

“Well the only approach that I have experienced is from the usual “Nairobi cons” who usually drop a bunch of notes,” a resident of Embu said.

“Not one or twice, I always smoke them out before they get to me … one thing you listen keenly to their story then poke holes in it and dismiss them,” Zachary Gathuku said.

-Security tips for Kenyans in the streets –

So, what should you do when you are approached by a suspicious stranger in a lonely or even a crowded place?

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It is what police and security expert terms as a “surgical operation” by city thugs, who don’t want to use extreme force or weapons like guns.

A surgical operation- in the security sector- is where you head straight to the target in a bid to reduce the collateral damage, a strategy the enemy or even police cannot easily detect.

Richard Thuta is a Nairobi based security expert and relates well with such incidents.

According to him, criminals in such a scenario will always try to camouflage with the environment.

“They want to replicate the environment that they are in. They know for a fact, if they turn violent, they will be easily detected,” he points out. “They will try as much as possible not to interfere with the environment.”

Another strategy, Thuta says is a situation where, “they (thugs) pretend you are their brother (a relative) and that you are sick so that they mobilise the environment to their cause.”

“So that even if you try to resist, everybody will know that this is a sick person who they want to take to hospital. They will think that this is part of the sickness.”

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