Who is stealing vegetables in our kitchen gardens: Residents in Kiamunyi want to know

For the past few months, the people of Kiamunyi have not been sleeping well. 

This is thanks to a vegetable thief who has been terrorising the locals. You see, as a way of practicing good living habits, most of the residents have taken to farming, using the little space they have within their compounds to grow vegetables and fruits for their own use. 

And as it is the rainy season, most of the kitchen gardens are doing well. But when it came time for the farmers to enjoy the fruits of their labour, they were shocked to find that someone had already harvested the crops.

Josephine Nyabuto, a resident of Kiamunyi and a victim, says small-scale farmers in the area have fallen victim to various thieves who trespass on their land and steal their vegetables. 

She recalls how she woke up one morning to find that her kales had been completely harvested. 

"It was the June 8 when I woke up and went to my kitchen garden to find that my kale and managu, which were doing so well, had been uprooted. The thieves had stolen everything I had planted, leaving me with nothing," said Josephine. 

She noticed that there were visible footprints in her little shamba. 

"This must have happened late at night while I was fast asleep because none of us in my household heard the culprit who stole from us," she said. 

Rachel Too, also from Kiamunyi, had her avocados and kale stolen.

"To be honest, I was very hurt when I woke up to find that my avocados had been stolen and to make matters worse, they took the ones that were not fully ripe," said Rachel. 

She says it had rained heavily the night before and she thinks the thief may have taken advantage of this to make off with her crops. 

"I had to beef up security on my property by putting up security lights in the backyard and also getting a dog to help deter the vegetable thieves," she said. 

She urges the security agencies to ensure that they carry out patrols, especially in the middle of the night towards dusk, as this is when most of these crimes occur. 
Speaking to Maroro Wycliffe, a Nyumba Kumi chairperson in the affected areas, he confirms that there have been some isolated cases in the area. 
"There have been some isolated incidents but the most rampant is the stealing of chickens and even during the day when you are out working you can come back and find your house broken into," said Maroro.