I lost many of my possessions during a recent robbery, the details of which prove that common sense has certainly never been one of my possessions.
What happened was – I left my luggage at the easycoach waiting lounge, after asking a youngish-looking fellow to keep an eye on them. After coming back from the urinals, I found my bag gone. Also gone was the youngish-looking fellow.
I reported the incident to the police, statements were written, but the culprit was not found.
For some reason, many of the people I spoke to about the incident kept interjecting with, “Fortunately what you’ve lost is replaceable” or “thank God you’re alive and healthy” – um, I am a jobless twenty-something year-old, and much of what was stolen I cannot afford to replace. And not just financially. My laptop contained many photos that I cannot get back. So did the two phones which were also in the bag. My diaries were also in the bag. Diaries from 6 years back. Diaries which contained the minutae of my tumultous existence.
I guess my first mistake was failing to back-up my stuff online. My second mistake was leaving my valuables at the lounge. Which makes me feel like an absolute idiot. But although I am distraught at losing all those photos (and other valuables) I guess I did learn some valuable lessons. One of which is how attached we are to immaterial things.
Another lesson I learnt is how the D.C.I have got their shit together. Their response was immediate. It’s the owners of businesses like EasyCoach who screw their customers over. Their refusal to hand over CCTV footage of the incident was what screwed my case up, given that I had procured personal details of the looter.
The third lesson was sort of humbling. I learnt that I am an absolute idiot. Which is a lesson I will not soon forget.
Pole tuu sana. I am with you on the loss of photos and videos after being robbed in Kenya twice without back up. Once at Nakumatt where a woman stole my handbag which I had hung on the trolley as we do here and secondly by my sista’s Dec mboch wale wanaokota na huko to replace the main one for the hols. Now I have no memories to show the children about how I travelled far and wide in this country as a newbie. I had insurance for the gadgets but sikua na backup.
A reason why I don’t regard Kenya as a happy holiday destination because one has to be on guard 24/7. You get distracted kidogo hivi, you lose everything. Wezi are everywhere. I lost my phones and my bank cards and had to cancel them and enjoy a bad holiday. I also lost a lot of jewellery in that bag, quite why I had it in there is beyond my comprehension. V daft.
Wanawake thieves are the ones to watch out for last I checked. We were almost robbed seriously at a club near Upperhill by a woman as we put our handbags on the floor as we do here. We were alerted just on time. This woman came and joined our cage and was smiling and laughing at our jokes. We were foolish and did not tell her to move. Until a waiter came and asked my sis to go over at the counter. She was advised that we should have our handbags on our laps at all times and have one of us guard them when we went to shake a leg…she moved immediately!!:saitan:all 10 of us tungejikuta bila handbags, no money to pay the bill, tuitane kwa simu…
They are also famous for appearing at mashakayas to steal after reading orbituaries in the daily papers. Story for anaa day.
Lesson numero uno: Keep your luggage with you at all times anywhere in the world.
Welcome to Nairobi young man, Nairobi ni nono, ukitia bidii na uwe mjanja utarecover kila kitu. Ukiendelea kuwa idiot utarudi Oyugis bila kitu. Chungana sana na watu kama @poyoloko
Simiyu are you kidding me? how could people know we live in the UK? scenario was 10 girls had arrived in Jmu for a wedding from different countries. UK, Trumpistan and one from SA. Our foolishness was putting our handbags on the floor like we do here. But the good waiter alerted us before we were seriously robbed.
Pole sana, wengine tumewekewa mchele tukasanywa hadi ngotha…we came back stronger.
You are not an idiot…you have a good heart, but don’t trust easily. Hizi za dunia uta recover.
Ukiwa safarini peke yako, even if you are in the remottest…, Yes remottest part of Kenya na upatwe na haja kubwa ama fupi, please please…carry your suitcase(s) to the washroom room. This is Kenya. It’s better to look weird than it is toloose your stuff.
Si ungeenda na virago zako kwa choo banae. Umeweka laptop, simu kwa bag na unawachia a youngish fellow to keep an eye on them. Kijana saizi ako reggae anaserereka
UPDATE: 5TH APRIL
I get a phone call from a strange number. The caller has a somewhat Nigerian-ish accent. “Is this Tauren? I’m the guy who stole your bag at EasyCoach and I want to say sorry.”
I press the REC button on my phone and ask him to repeat. The caller claims he has been stealing luggages for quite sometime, but he is now “born-again.”
“I book a bus ticket like a normal passenger, and when an opportunity presents itself, I make away with someone’s bag,” he adds.
He claims he’s sold most of my stuff.
“Ok so why are you now calling me?” I ask him.
“As I said, I’m now covered with the blood of Jesus,…”
Either I am dealing with a lunatic or a dumb thief.