This archive report was first published on 7 August 2019.
On the night of August 5-6, a traveler's journey from Nairobi to Kampala on a Modern Coast bus turned into a nightmare when he fell victim to a thief.
As he boarded the bus at the River Road stage, he noticed a man already seated in his designated seat, seat 38. The man, who claimed to be a foreigner with a Congolese Swahili accent, attempted to make small talk, but the traveler remained cautious, sensing that the man was trying to fake a local accent.
Despite his initial reservations, the traveler eventually fell asleep, only to wake up when the bus stopped in Nakuru. The man, who had been pretending to be asleep, offered him a coffee, which he declined. The traveler then drifted off to sleep again, only to wake up when the bus reached Eldoret.
As the bus pulled into Eldoret, the man quickly got off, and the traveler realized that his laptop was missing. He immediately notified the bus crew, who helped him search for the thief. A boda boda rider overheard their conversation and offered to take the traveler to a nearby lodge, where they suspected the thief might be hiding.
At the lodge, the receptionist confirmed that the man had indeed taken a room and was in the bathroom. The traveler and the bus crew found the man's room and discovered the stolen laptop in a small rucksack under the bed. The thief was arrested and taken to the Eldoret police station, where the traveler wrote a statement.
However, the police insisted that the traveler leave his laptop as an exhibit, despite his willingness to drop the charges. The traveler eventually left the laptop behind and continued his journey.
