Nairobi residents, Eastlands to be specific have raised an alarm over rising cases of theft in the area.
According to credible reports thieves have been targeting WiFi gadgets mounted on rooftops of residential buildings- subjecting owners to unnecessary losses.
Thieves have been busy eyeing and harvesting lite beams and power beams used by small-scale WiFi providers in informal settlements.
The mounted WiFi in informal settlements is popularly known as ‘Internet mwitu’.
Internet mwitu is common in less popular estates and slum areas in Nairobi, mostly where land ownership is disputed.
Speaking to Wananchi reporting," Alphones" said that he was forced to withdraw from the 'internet mwitu' business after thieves stole all his internet gadgets.
He stated;
“I lost a total of eight Lite Beams in two months. The thieves would strike almost weekly. That’s a lot of money given one of such gadget, the small ones, cost between Sh6,500 and Sh20,000,”
He now runs a cybercafé in Eastlands.
“The thieves would climb on top of the seven-story building where I had mounted the gadget, and steal it,” he continued.
An entrepreneur known as Don Oti an 'internet mwitu' provider, said that theft thrives in places where tall buildings are very close to each other.
“They will jump from the adjacent building onto the next one to steal. It’s a dangerous thing to even attempt because one can lose his footing and fall,” he said.
The thieves also steal metal reinforcements used to anchor the gadgets onto the rooftops.
“I know many people who have been forced out of business because their gadgets were stolen,” says Don
Although internet mwitu is a common thing in these low-income estates, most residents who use them have always had issues with the quality of the internet being sold to them.
“I use it because that’s what we can have in this area. Otherwise, I have issues with its reliability,” he added.
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