Unmasking CBD beggars

They are everywhere, their numbers begging questions as to why they’re ever on the rise. From the town centre, they have moved to the suburbs. They have become an institution and a painful inconvenience to city residents. Beggars in the streets come in all shapes and sizes. There are young children and adult beggars employing all tricks in the book. Young children being guided by their mothers or guardians have become a demographic entity despite some being too young to be exposed to the dangers of the city.  Career beggars Sometimes they will cling on you, calling out ‘auntie’ or ‘uncle’ and employing all psychological appeals to squeeze something out of you.  Their mothers, meanwhile, are tucked somewhere, watching,  issuing instructions, coaching. While there are the needy cases, just know too there are career beggars, even the able-bodied. 
Some adults do it themselves. Some use children or the physically challenged who are now permanent fixtures in the streets. Their lot  has been reported in the media from time to time, but the number of panhandlers  keeps swelling. The  Nairobian studied the city’s commonest beggars and found out that most of them are nothing more than  ‘career beggars.’  1. ‘Bus fare cheat’ These are individuals in their late 20s and 30s and occasionally middle-aged, who beg for bus fare from the CBD to say, Koma Rock.  Mostly, they are shabbily dressed and have cracked lips to match their needy narrative. It is not uncommon for these breed to approach you for Sh20 to Koma Rock...although the same person begged for the same in 2000! And you wonder, “kwani haja wahi fika?”  They are talented at stopping, greeting you humbly, before serving a cooked  predicament  about happening in the city centre searching for a job and you can fill in the blanks about the rest of in their tale of woe.
Menopause Avenue  Charles Omondi, a ‘bus fare beggar’ goes home with between  Sh500 and Sh1,000. “I have no other job, and I can’t go back to my rural home,” Omondi told The Nairobian. Given what they demand is easily disposable cash, they manage to fleece individuals without much trouble. There are even women negotiating that corner towards Menopause Avenue who are adept ‘bus fare beggars.’ 2.  Suit beggars Not that they beg for suits, rather, they wear them to ‘work’, looking  all professional like line managers. They have well-rehearsed yarns about some relative who has had a surgery of the left butt, or a personal problem. Like the ‘teacher’ from some rural hamlet  who is stranded, and needs bus fare to get to Ruai   where his ailing relative lives
Same ‘teacher’ has not left town Mostly they beg for something like Sh100-Sh200 and will talk you into giving them once you give them audience. They are adults, who sound like they went through 8-4-4, reasonable and you have to use your sense of judgment to give them money. Then three months later, the same ‘teacher’ has not left town and is still in the same faded Gucci suit sourced from Gikomba second-hand clothes market, probably. 3. Friday ‘lunch’ at Jamia Mosque On any Friday, at 1pm, as the city’s major mosque teems with worshippers, beggars swam around the it. They are mostly women and their young daughters dressed like Muslims, hijab and all, mill about, targets on sight. Human beings  are vulnerable after renewing their acquittance with  God. The beggars know this, you know, and they might not be Muslims, after all. 4. The ‘mad’ beggar
He, as they are invariably men, disrupt your morning journey in a bus via a medical appeal: “Habari zenu mandugu na madada, mimi ni mgonjwa, hata ni madawa nimemaliza. Nichangiane ninue madawa, nimetoka Mathari juzi,”(How are you brothers and sisters, I am sick, I need money for  drugs, I just left Mathari the other day).  Given his highly dramatised voice and theatrics, most Nairobians just give money to rid themselves of bothersome tantrums.   5. The ‘TD Jakes’ beggar Pseudo preachers, if Nairobians were to be honest, are some of the major pet-peeves so much so that  even matatu owners have prohibited begging, hawking and preaching.  Preachers are known to use all means to get money out of the commuters or individuals who want a peaceful rest at a park.   Some use humour effectively.
They advertise their churches But increasingly, the common practice is blackmail. They remind individuals that they have lifestyle diseases, HIV/Aids related ailments, those swimming in the endless murky waters of debt, instability in family or any other modern tragedy afflicting families. At the end they will ask you to give, so that they can pray for your problems. At the  same time, they advertise their churches.  6. ‘We are family’  Professional street families    have colonised begging sections-like Tom Mboya Street-where      territories are respected despite the occasional disputes. Depending on what they demand of the pedestrians, like food or money, there are those who are positioned close to fast food chains and others outside ATM machines.  7. The ‘dying’ sick They have a gaping wound or an outgrowth that can put the fear of God in you. Mostly they are abandoned in streets with a manila paper that describes their medical history and depending on the time of the day, several coins are usually already scattered to inspire you not to ‘toboa’ your pockets with coins. 
8. The ever ‘school-going’ beggar They are dressed in school uniform, mostly young children and an occasional high school student with school fees problem. Sometimes it is a sick parent or sibling and they have been left with the responsibility of settling a hefty medical bill. They are very persuasive, and come fully with forms from relevant authorities (normally from an entity of the government) to certify that they are borrowing money for legitimate reasons. They are known also to throng universities and colleges. 9. The blind They are mostly middle-aged men. Some walk around with adults with bowls begging. While their disability is limiting, many have questioned why they have able-bodied guides. 10. Territorial beggars They have identified their turfs, invariably the same spot daily. No compe here. Some are sick and grounded in their respective locations that are mostly conveniently near their bus stops. 
11. The posers They pose as blind, deaf or dumb. They communicate using signs. One such who pretended to be deaf once ‘overheard’ a conversation in the University of Nairobi’s prefabs and had to run for his dear life. Weapons of mass destruction A student only said: “This is the individual who stole my laptop yesterday.” The man who had introduced himself using signs apparently knew trouble was coming and bolted before weapons of mass destruction could be hurled his way. 12. ‘Kayamba’ beggars They will play the most soulful music with the mouth organ while others are  gifted with wonderful voices and sing to attract the public attention while following rhythms coming from a strategically placed radio cassette. Their repertoire is mostly gospel from Choir ya Uinjilisti, Arusha Mjini.
-www.standardmedia.co.ke