Saturday night in Westlands is usually a time for relaxation. But at Chaiiwali Cafe on General Mathenge Road, the evening turned into a nightmare in less than a minute.
Chilling CCTV footage has captured the moment two armed youths stormed the premises, robbing terrified customers of their valuables.
The attack occurred at exactly 10:34 p.m. Two motorbikes pulled up outside the restaurant, carrying the masked gunmen. As they entered, the footage shows one robber immediately cocking his pistol. 
He moved toward a table on the right where six customers were seated.
A Calculated Strike
The robbers appeared to have planned the raid. Reports indicate they were on a scouting mission and had passed the cafe once before turning back to strike. Panic spread through the cafe as the realization of the threat set in.
While one gunman focused on the right side of the cafe, his accomplice targeted tables on the left. The raid was lightning-fast. In less than 40 seconds, the duo had collected six iPhones, one Samsung phone, and a laptop.
The situation nearly turned deadly during the escape. As the robbers fled toward their waiting motorbikes, the individual wearing a white jacket fired a shot inside the restaurant. A security guard attempted to stop them, but the gunman fired at the ground to scare him off.
The thieves then hopped onto the motorbikes and sped away. Detectives from Gigiri police station arrived later that night and recovered one used cartridge from outside the cafe.
Growing Insecurity in Westlands
This brazen robbery is part of a worrying trend in the area. Just one month ago, five men on two motorbikes attacked Nazir Pan House, another local restaurant. In that incident, they stole two phones valued at 165,000 shillings.
Residents are increasingly concerned about the role of motorbikes in these crimes. The difficulty in distinguishing between legitimate transport operators and criminals is creating a climate of fear.
“It's now not very easy to discern who is a genuine border border rider who is a genuine Uber operator and this presents a very crazy scare for the residents at this place,” one local source remarked.
