Nairobi Forex Trader Riding On Boda Boda Counts Losses After Armed Robbers Steal KSh 12.9m From Him

• Ali Shire lost a whopping KSh 12.9 million to armed robbers in Nairobi Central Business District on Tuesday, September 10
• The forex trader had converted $100,000 to Kenya shillings at Westlands and was accosted while riding on a boda boda to Nairobi CBD
• One of the suspects grabbed the bag from Shire near the Utalii Building and fled the scene, leaving Shire counting losses

TUKO.co.ke journalist Japhet Ruto has over eight years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting and offers profound insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.

A Nairobi forex trader is counting losses running into millions of shillings after armed robbers accosted him on Tuesday, September 10.

The trader who was riding on a boda boda lost a bag containing a whopping KSh 12.9 million.

According to Citizen TV, the incident occurred at 12:53 p.m., when Hirsi Ali Shire boarded a motorbike from his office on Kaunda Street in Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD) and headed to Westlands to exchange US dollars for Kenya shillings.

When he reached the Westlands Paramount building, he exchanged the money ($100,000) and got back on the same motorcycle that was riding toward the CBD.

How Nairobi trader lost KSh 12.9m

But things took an unexpected turn when they reached the Utalii building on the Uhuru Highway, only a few meters from the roundabout. A white saloon car blocked them.

Two passengers got out of the vehicle and threatened to shoot the two if they did not comply.

One of the suspects grabbed the bag from Shire, returned to the car, and fled the scene.

"The reportee and the rider tried to give a chase to the vehicle but to no avail," a police report stated.

Shire said he failed to spot the car's registration number. The police are investigating the robbery and hope to bring the suspects to justice.

How another Nairobi trader lost KSh 2m

In a separate story, a young Kenyan man identified as Sammy Boy revealed he lost KSh 2 million on forex trading.

The entrepreneur was in the middle of building a house for his mother when he had to pause everything to look for money.

He had to also sell one of his cars and use the little he would get to help continue with house construction.

Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke