A 40-year-old night guard, identified as Saringe ole Gee, was killed during a violent robbery at a liquor store in Kahawa West, Nairobi, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Assailants stormed the premises around 4 a.m., stealing goods valued at KSh 2.5 million and dismantling CCTV cameras to cover their tracks.

This deadly heist is more than a statistic; it is a stark reminder of the human cost of rising urban crime and the precarious position of small enterprises. For the business owners, a loss of KSh 2.5 million is a devastating blow that threatens their livelihood, while for the family of Mr. Gee, it is an irreplaceable loss.

Police reports indicate that the guard was found with deep cuts to his head, his body showing signs of a brutal struggle. A resident, Nicholas Mong’era, alerted authorities at the Kahawa West Police Station around 7 a.m. after neighbours discovered the scene.

A Community Gripped by Fear

The incident has sent shockwaves through the local community, with residents claiming insecurity has worsened in the area. Some locals pointed to a power outage, alleging that a transformer removed for repairs weeks ago has not been replaced, plunging the area into darkness and making it a fertile ground for criminal activity. This attack is not an isolated event but part of a worrying trend that sees businesses forced to take costly security measures or close early, directly impacting their performance and sustainability.

The owner of the store expressed profound shock, not just at the financial loss, but at the murder of their guard. “They have really shocked us by killing our security. That was the saddest news we received today,” he noted. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has launched a probe, with detectives collecting evidence from the scene, though no arrests had been made as of Thursday.

The Broader Economic Threat

Across Nairobi, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) consistently cite insecurity as a major obstacle to growth. The costs associated with crime are not limited to stolen goods; they include:

• Increased expenditure on private security.
• Lost revenue from reduced operating hours due to safety fears.
• Higher insurance premiums.
• Damage to property and employee morale.

This environment of fear stifles the entrepreneurial spirit that is vital for job creation and economic stability. While police continue their investigation, the Kahawa West community is left to mourn and question what it will take to secure their lives and businesses. The stolen liquor can be replaced, but the life of Saringe ole Gee cannot.