Shock as ‘disabled’ street beggars jump from wheelchairs, flee to avoid arrest

Shock and disbelief as 38 physically challenged ran for their dear lives before they were arrested by the police during a mop-up exercise in Thika town, Kenya.

The police had raided the town on Saturday and arrested the beggars who have been fleecing the residents of their hard-earned money by pretending to be physically challenged.

During the exercise, the street beggars demonstrated how they faked injuries and impairments to solicit money from the public.

Some who have been known to crawl in the streets or to be permanently on wheelchairs ran faster than the police and disappeared in the streets

One of them was a woman, who before the raid was crawling on the floor but after arrest, she stood up on her feet and walked by herself.

The exercise that was done by the police and children’s department was prompted by a drastic surge in aggressive begging in Thika town targeting supermarket exits and busy streets.

Shockingly, the beggars, most of whom are said to have come from neighbouring Tanzania and are recruited from Nairobi, revealed that they make more than Ksh150, 000 in a bad month.

They said through begging, they have so far had huge investments in businesses and real estate and own.