Phone stolen in Nairobi? Do these four things first
The handset is usually the cheap part of a phone theft. What follows is the order that limits the damage in Nairobi and Nairobi County.
Where it tends to happen in Nairobi
Nairobi concentrates its foot traffic in a handful of places — the matatu termini around Railways, Ambassadeur and Tom Mboya Street, the walkways into Kencom, and the bars along Westlands and Kilimani at night. These are crowded, people are already holding their phones, and a handset is out of sight in seconds.
1. Block the SIM and bar M-Pesa
Borrow a phone and call your operator straight away. Safaricom customers dial 100 from another Safaricom line, or +254 722 002 200 from any other network; Airtel and Telkom customers dial 100 from a line on their own network. Ask for the SIM to be blocked and SIM-based transactions, M-Pesa included, barred. Have your national ID number ready.
2. Find your IMEI
The IMEI is the 15-digit number that identifies the handset itself. It is on the original box, usually on the receipt, and listed against your device in your Google account. Without it a report has very little to work with. How to find your IMEI.
3. Report it and get an OB number
Go to the station nearest to where it happened with your national ID and the details — time, place, what occurred. Central, Kamukunji, Kilimani, Parklands, Buruburu, Kayole and Embakasi are among the stations that serve the city; go to whichever is nearest where it happened. The officer records it in the Occurrence Book and gives you an OB number. Keep it, along with the officer’s name.
4. Change your passwords
Email first, since it resets everything else, then your bank app, then social media. Sign the device out of your Google account from a computer.
About blocking the handset by IMEI
Blocking the SIM stops calls on your line. Blocking the IMEI is meant to stop the handset working on any network at all. Kenya has required IMEI registration since 2021 and the Communications Authority has set out a register for lost and stolen devices, but what operators ask for in practice has changed over the years. Take your OB number or police abstract to customer care and ask them what they need today.
None of the steps above existed to help you before the phone was taken. That is the gap.
Guard Eye captures a photo from both cameras, video with audio and the GPS location the moment someone fails to unlock your phone, and emails it to you. One payment of KES 999, Android only, no subscription.
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Related guides
Common questions
Where do I report a stolen phone in Nairobi?
At the police station nearest to where it happened. Central, Kamukunji, Kilimani, Parklands, Buruburu, Kayole and Embakasi are among the stations that serve the city; go to whichever is nearest where it happened. Take your national ID and ask for the OB number before you leave.
What is an OB number?
The reference the police give you when the incident is written into the Occurrence Book. Every later step — an insurance claim, an IMEI blocking request — will ask for it.
Should I call Safaricom or the police first?
The operator. Barring the SIM and M-Pesa stops the expensive part of the loss; the police report can be made an hour later without changing the outcome.
Guard Eye is an Android app made in Kenya. Procedures on this page follow the national process — police OB number, IMEI, operator SIM block — and the details operators ask for do change, so confirm with yours. Back to Guard Eye