DO PERIMETER WALL PROVIDE REAL SECURITY?

Living behind high walls 

An estate along the Northern by pass in Runda. Photo/FILE 

By EVELYN SITUMA and MARGARETTA WA GACHERU

Posted  Thursday, May 22  2014 at  16:49

In Summary

• Simple fences are slowly disappearing and replaced by high walls for security reasons

inShar

Walls rise up in the leafy suburbs of the city imposing their might and stature on every passer-by.

These high mortar and brick perimeter walls are what many home owners are spending tens of thousands of shillings on, just to secure their homes and keep intruders and criminals away.

The question of whether or not these structures keep criminals away is debatable.

While there are those who believe their investment in the walls has paid off, some don’t quite understand how a thief could overcome a detailed security system and manage to steal from a well secured compound even when they have erected walls.

The Bangladesh high commissioner to Kenya was two months ago attacked and robbed at his residence in Karen. In his interview with a television station, he expressed his shock over the experience.

According to him, he was astonished that thieves broke in, yet he had a perimeter wall, a guard and CCTV surveillance system.

On the other hand, artist Tabitha Wa Thuku lives in another leafy Nairobi suburb without having invested in erecting walls. Yet she has never had a problem with thieves breaking into her home and studio.

“My neighbors all of whom have high perimeter walls and still have gotten robbed in their homes, ask me why it is that my place has not been attacked. Several have even suggested that I might have a hand in the break-ins, which of course is ridiculous,” said the artist.

Admitting she has no interest in building a wall around her home, Tabitha says the thieves probably know they won’t find much money and few material things of value.

Insecurity

“Most of them do not know that visual art can be worth thousands of shillings, which is good for me,” said Tabitha who has exhibited her art in most of the galleries and museums in Nairobi. It has also been shown overseas with much success.

The level of insecurity in the country has made people desperate. Shunning picket fences, chain-link and rail fences, a good number of home owners are investing in stone walls for security and privacy.

Doreen, a resident in Rongai, opted for a fence to keep intruders away.

“I would hang clothes to dry outside only to find them gone,” said Doreen. Since she put up a stone walled fence, she hasn’t lost anything. The fence she adds has also saved her from noisy neighbours who used to peep regularly into her yard.

Though most homeowners don’t mind having this perimeter walls, some perceive them as a prison of sorts.
Stephen Omwando, Group Chief Executive Office of KK Security disagrees. He says, stone walls are a deterrent to criminals. Although he adds that they don’t necessarily keep thieves away, but they certainly delay them from looting.

“Once you have a perimeter wall, your house becomes a hard target,” he said.

The choice of fencing styles and materials is based on one’s assumption of what really can guarantee maximum security. Green hedged fences made with either indigenous trees or prickly bushes like cay-apple are affordable and have aesthetic appeal in a compound.

But even with their boganvillias and leafy shrubs, residents in posh estates add some aspects of security to keep intruders at bay, such as censored lights.

Gated community

In the final analysis, homeowners are bound to be told that they must have either a stone or brick and mortar wall to keep out undesirable members of society.

They might even be encouraged to add electrical wire fencing on top of their wall to further ensure protection of their home.

Whatever the case, whether one lives in a gated community or in an open-air home like Tabitha’s, one is best advised to be conscious that one need never be naïve about living in Nairobi since it’s a city like most capital cities in the world where the gap between rich or middle class and poor, haves and have-nots is wide.

That means there will always be a temptation among some to bridge that gap by any means necessary, including people coming into complete strangers’ homes and taking whatever they want.

So the need is to be wise and vigilant while deciding how best to feel safe in your own home, since everyone would like to believe their home is their secure castle.