A recent study by National Crime Research Centre shows that kidnapping is on the rise in Kenya. So much so, that Kenya is now ranked as number 17 out of 19 under countries where the threat of kidnapping is the the highest.
The most prevalent forms of kidnapping involved those committed by; a stranger(68.9%), an acquaintance( 48.3%), being kidnapped and forced to withdraw money from an ATM (41.1%), inside kidnapping (35.7%), kidnapping committed by a family member (29%) and virtual kidnapping ( 27.1%). Inside kidnapping is kidnapping that involves a domestic employee who is paid to give out information that would facilitate the crime. Virtual kidnapping occurs when a kidnapper gets contact and personal information on minors and then calls the parents for ransom without the child actually being taken. The counties that had the highest prevalence of kidnapping were Nairobi, Nyeri, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, and Migori.
In terms of victim profile, women (55.1%) and children (78.1%) are the most vulnerable. Children are an easy target because they lack the physical and mental capacity to resist the luring techniques of kidnappers. Women are highly vulnerable because they were less likely to resist force or threats of force, which is a method that is commonly employed by kidnappers. Because kidnapping is mostly an economically motivated crime, the category that is a popular target is wealthy families and those who are economically stable. Tourists are also a likely target because, its assumed that they have the ability to pay ransom money, as it is in the case of wealthy families. Government officials are mostly targeted for intimidation in case of rivalry between politicians.
The youth (those aged 18-35 yrs) form the majority of kidnappers. This the most productive age group in the economy and the report shows that the high unemployment rate is the biggest factor encouraging this crime. Without paying jobs, it is more likely that the youth will kidnap others for ransom money in order to cater for their economic needs.
The report urges Kenyans to be vigilant especially in the morning when leaving their homes and evening when returning as it is the time kidnapping was most likely to occur. Women are encouraged to take up self defense skills to enable them to fight off kidnappers.
Social media has the least reach (4.2%) in terms of reporting the news of a missing loved one suspected to have been kidnapped while radio and TV has the highest reach of 75.9%and 68.6% respectively.
You can find the full report here