NAIROBI, Kenya- For all the wrong reasons, Margaret Nduta has become known within a short period.
Her story is riddled with gaps, yet it tugs at the hearts of many. For meager earnings, Nduta risked both her life and freedom.
Though her circumstances are unique, they reflect the grim reality of life within the criminal underworld.
Poverty, power, control, lack of options, and immense risks—these forces shape decisions made in desperation.
Trapped in precarious situations with no way out, individuals are easily manipulated or blackmailed into actions they would otherwise shun.
Deal after deal, they cling to hope, praying nothing goes wrong—until, inevitably, it does.
Even when facing the loss of freedom or life itself, secrets about crime remain buried. If revealed, it’s done cautiously, in fragments.
There’s little to go on—either a promise of eventual help or the unspoken fear of retaliation against loved ones. Power and control keep clandestine operations running seamlessly.
Those behind these schemes are always “influential” yet conveniently unnamed.
While one family agonizes over an imprisoned kin, another weighs the risk of pulling yet another person into the cycle. Poverty forces people—rich and poor alike—into unspeakable deeds.
The crimes may vary in scale, but whether they come to light is another matter. The big bad wolf almost always stays out of sight and out of reach.
