This archive report was first published on 31 October 2019.
Maragua, a town in Murang'a County, has been plagued by high crime rates, making it one of the most insecure places in the region. The situation has led to a decline in property values and a lack of investment in the real estate sector.
According to the Chairman of Maragua West Business Community, Pius Murage, the town is in dire need of a military base to drive out gangs and restore peace. He also suggested that the government should buy off half the town and establish an animal orphanage to attract tourists.
‘The military presence will drive the gangs out and the orphanage will bring us tourists. That is the only way to liberate this town from the strong muscled grip of criminals,’ Murage said.
Despite being classified favourably by the area chamber of commerce as a town with a daily cash flow of between Sh10 and Sh25 million, property rates in Maragua have remained at their lowest. The town's Nyumba Kumi security initiative member, Joram Chege, identified Mathare, Rurii, and Boarder estates as the worst-hit areas.
‘A quarter of an acre piece of land in Mathare is currently rated at a bargainable Sh300,000, the same in Soweto is going for Sh250,000 and for Sh80,000 in Rurii. The same portion in the neighbouring Samar area goes for Sh1.2 million,’ Chege said.
Josephine Njoki of Jokasa Property Agents in the town noted that for the past 10 years, property value in the town has remained dormant and transactions purely based on mutual agreements.
‘The property market on this town is not structured. You cannot authoritatively say this is the average cost of a piece of land, building or even average rent. We have properties in very strategic places of the town that today have no commercial stability,’ Njoki said.
The Annual Crime Report Card 2018 indicated that the town has hard drugs networks, violent gangs with territorial bases, business rivalry-based gangs, muggers, and ordinary town toughies who wreak havoc within the town's social and economic setup.
Former area MP Elias Mbau called for the town to be freed from negative profiling, saying it is the work of security agents to work and deliver residents from insecurity.
Marung'a County Police Commander Josephat Kinyua assured that his team is working hard to secure the town, incorporating area communities into their action plan and responding to insecurity incidents at the shortest time possible.
