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Digitised Nyumba Kumi

Title: Digitised Nyumba Kumi

Author(s): Akinyi Omondi, Ibrahim Oduor, Roselyn Mugo, Waceera Kabando, Justin Okara, Joseph Kiburu (participants)

Year: 2023

City: Nairobi

Language(s): English

Participants discussed how community policing in Kenya has leveraged social media.

Nyumba Kumi is a strategy designed for citizens to know their neighbours and is anchored on the premise that citizens know their areas very well, and are indeed able to spot and call out any suspicious or unusual activities in their surroundings. This concept was initiated following terrorist attacks in 2013 and changed how persons who live and work in the city view security. WhatsApp groups and other social media platforms are commonly used in neighbourhoods around the city to monitor, report and intervene in various security challenges, complementing the work of law enforcement.