Street begging is common in Nairobi streets and also in Kibera.
Walking through the streets whether day time or at night you will bump into countless street beggars begging for money and material things.
Street begging has become a menace in Nairobi and Kibera with claims that criminals are nowadays disguising as beggars to steal from unsuspecting city dwellers.
Street beggars are now employing tricks to get more cash from city dwellers.
Here are four tricks Kibera street beggars are now using to get your cash.
1. Faking disabilities
Many street beggars use disability as their main reason to solicit for cash from sympathetic city dwellers.
Walking through the streets you will find beggars on wheelchairs exposing their disability.
While some of the cases could be genuine, many of them are not.
Many of these beggars fake disability and use it to get cash from unsuspecting city dwellers.
Some of the beggars fake blindness and other disabilities to get the attention of city dwellers and in the process get money.
2. Using children (minors) to beg
Some beggars come to the streets with their children and use them to beg from city dwellers.
Walking through Nairobi streets and Kibera you will meet with these minor children who in any case should be in school or at home.
These children follow city dwellers asking for money.
They use polite phrases like 'Uncle nisaidie, auntie nisaidie', to get sympathy.
The minors sometimes cry loudly to make their targets feel sympathtic and give money.
3. Using sick children to beg
Some street beggars are these days parading their sick babies into the streets to get sympathy.
You will often spot them at strategic points especially bus stages moving with their children while asking for money.
In most cases, these beggars will show you the medical history of their babies and their alleged ailments in attempt to make you sympathetic and give out money.
4. Faking talents
Some street beggars have perfected the art of faking talent.
Such beggars will often pretend to be masters of art for example singing and guitar playing and use the tricks to get sympathy.
You will often spot these beggars at strategic points singing loudly and when you engage them more they are clueless on what they sing about.
There are claims that some of these beggars are stationed on the streets by wealthy people who use them as traps to get rich.
The Nairobi county government says it is working on a plan to clear beggars from the streets.
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