A number of Tanzanian citizens have been exposed for pretending to be crippled and taking advantage of generous Kenyans in the streets of Nairobi.
KTN journalists traversed the streets of Nairobi for several months to uncover how the foreigners carry out the begging fraud that they have embraced as full time jobs with some having big plans for the begging proceeds.
The investigations established that most of those pretending to be crippled reside at a particular residential house in Kariobangi North and for a long time normal people or Kenyans were not allowed to rent rooms in the house. Rooms go for Ksh4,000 each a month.
When one woman was confronted with videos of her crawling in the streets with her child on the back and was later seen walking once at the residential home, she denied being the one saying that she only has one leg.
As the saying goes the early bird catches the worm, the Tanzanian nationals also wake up early and head to their various stages. Some crawl across streets begging and even get sympathy from motorists who stop their cars to allow them to cross roads but when night comes, they walk home on their two feet.
Others use people on wheelchairs to beg and at the end of the day the pusher of the wheelchair and the one being pushed divide amongst themselves whatever they collected during the day. One of the pushers told the journalists that one can find such a job in Kariobangi.Â
“If I get caught, I just say this is my younger sibling,” he added noting that it is easier to beg in Kenya as compared to Tanzania
Another fraudster identified as Esther Chara, who is also a Tanzanian national, stages herself in the scorching sun seeking sympathy from well-wishers. She told the journalist that she left her children in Tanzania. The money she makes from begging is sent back home to take care of their needs including paying their school fees.
There is also another one identified as Esther from Sirare, Tanzania who had a child with her. She said that she was smuggled into the country by only paying Kshs250 and offered to give the journalist the contacts of the person who was facilitating their movement to the country.
“I have never been arrested. Those mostly arrested are the men who push[wheelchairs]. Here you can get a lot and buy land or even a cow. I have collected enough to buy land,” the mother of four said.
Others go begging with their grown up children who also pretend to be crippled. At night they crawl to matatus. They however are hardly seen alighting while crawling. One of the matatu operators confirmed that, saying that most of them prefer Eastleigh because of a huge population.
“They come crawling, but when you come looking for them, they are not there. They become the first ones to alight,” he said.
Below is the full video of events that unfolded during the investigation.
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