Crime is a rampant issue all across the nation but none feel it's sting quite like Nairobi residents who are besieged day in, day out by the most vicious and opportunistic criminals Africa has ever seen. Understandably, the officers who are tasked with ensuring and maintaining law and order have to be more stringent and at times have to be fierce in their fight against criminals and the entropy they occasion.

Areas such as Kayole are infamous for all the crime and violence that goes on there so needless to say, the police officers there have to adapt or get killed in the line of duty. To the officers who work in such areas, fear is a valuable ally. To be feared might be the difference between getting home safely to your wife and child or dying like a chicken on the streets -literally.

So I had a conversation with my team to try and find out which estates in Nairobi have the most feared and the most fierce police officers and these are the places we came up with:

Kasarani

Just a few short days ago, police officers trailed and shot carjackers around the DHL area. It was a warzone from all accounts -my roommate was there and he admitted that he had to run and hide. Shots were ricocheting off the walls.

According to my roommate who is called Clive and plays for Nondies, the cops who dealt with the situation had trailed the obs from wherever and dealt with them conclusively right infront of DHL!

Githurai/ Zimmerman

Githurai is a region that is known for breeding and harbouring Nairobi's worst carjackers and gun-runners. Githurai used to be the hotbed for matatu carjacking before the goons there wisened up and realized that they cannot defecate where they eat and expect any sort of longevity. So they begun exporting their services to other estates.

The police in Githurai might have unwittingly occasioned this "awakening". You see, the police at Githurai/ Zimmerman realized that in order to survive and control the carjacking menace, they would have to toughen up. They became bad ass!

So feared were they that at whenever they appear kwa base the area boys scamper like rats.

In Githurai, the residents are in support of the manner in which police officers handle criminals so much so that they protested IN SUPPORT OF a police officer who was arrested for killing 2 criminals!

Kayole

Gunshots always ring out in this part of the buttcrack of Nairobi. Eastlands is a notoriously difficult place to live in, People are always attacked and robbed and sometimes even raped. This region of Nairobi has some of the most hardened criminals and an even tougher police force. I am told that police had to evolve in tandem to the spiraling violence and gunfights.

And they did so by becoming no nonsense. Actually that is an understatement. they adopted a zero tolerance approach to crime. Here, even petty offenders get the heavy handed treatment. The cops here are no joke and they want you to fear them so they go out of their way to instill some in the criminals.

Umoja

My colleagues at work were categorical about Umoja having some of the most fearsome police officers in Kenya. According to them, they are the type to warn a thief's family that he will be "dealt with" which usually means that he will disappear if he doesn't leave the area.

And if you think the threats are void, apparently, the police officers make good on their promises!

Dandora

This area is dangerous.

If even the garbage collectors have guns and participate in gunfights in broad daylight, I think we can all appreciate just how difficult these cops jobs are!

Dandora or D as the youngins call it is so bad that it is reported that at times, police officers families are targeted for retribution against the cops. And that is where things get scary. It becomes an all out war pitting police officers against gangs such as Mungiki and things deteriorate.

Kariobangi North

This is the market place for illegal firearms that find their way into the capital. And as a result, weapons are readily available in the area. Police are aware of the trade and go all out to snuff it out. And keep in mind that they also have to deal with the fallout of the weapons trade -little boys and baby gangsters with firearms...