My Hood: An estate where residents suffer in silence as insecurity takes root
The aerial view of Satellite estate in Nakuru city.
Found roughly three kilometres away from Nakuru city centre, stands Satellite estate.
To an outsider touring the place, the estate seems the ideal place to live in as a middle-class person living in Nakuru.
Here, you can find very spacious apartments with reliable water supply.
A one-bedroom apartment here rents between Sh 8,500 to Sh 12,000 while a two-bedroom house goes for Sh 14,000 rent.
One of the feeder roads in Satellite estate.
But upon talking to the locals, you come to learn of the biggest thorn in the flesh of Satellite residents; insecurity.
Wallace Otieno, a business man shares, "Insecurity imekuwa issue kubwa sana huku. I have to close my shop very early so that I'm back home before dark. "
Mr Wallace shares that his caution with walking at night began after he was recently attacked by two men on a motorbike.
He begins narrating, "On Saturday, I was on my way back to my house at 8 pm after buying some food when my attackers came out of nowhere. One grabbed my right hand while the other snatched my phone out of my pocket."
Wallace shares that they not only snatched his phone, but also went as far as hitting him on the head with a piece of wood resulting in a nose bleed and a head injury.
The same terror is experienced by business people of the area with most of them resorting to closing shop early.
Juliani Akinyi, a fish seller at Satellite estate.
Juliani Akinyi, a known fish seller in the area shares, "I used to sell fish till 10 pm up until the Maandamano period. Apo ndiyo insecurity ili increase. Since that time, there has been increased phone and money snatching and cases of women being raped. I am now forced to close my shop at 8 pm."
Meanwhile, another food seller in the area, Kate*, shares that running a business in the area is not for the faint of hearted.
A section of Satellite estate in Nakuru city.
Visibly shaking with terror, she narrates, "Those young men come to the shop as many as 10 of them. They come and order food. If you ask them for money, they threaten you with knives and rob you off all the money you have."
She notes that this has happened to her more than thrice and has since resorted to peacefully letting them eat for free so that no harm befalls her.
"I have a young child so I cannot put up a fight as I must think of her safety. I also insist that my customers pay me via M-Pesa so that I have no cash on me," she shares.
Upon asking whether the area police are of help Kate* notes, "Although the police patrol the area, they only do so at the main road and never come to the inner parts of the estate."