Kenyan innovator builds anti-theft system that makes snatched phones scream
Nairobi IT expert Eliud Gilisho has built Afande, a remote now turned into a watch that sets off a non-stop alarm on a stolen phone. He says the phone then shares the thief's location and records video, Citizen Digital reported.
A Kenyan innovator says he has built a system that turns a stolen phone into a loud alarm. Eliud Gilisho calls it Afande. It started as a remote and is now a watch. When the owner presses it, the phone starts shouting "uuui huyu ni mwizi", Swahili for "this is a thief", Citizen Digital reported on Tuesday. Gilisho says the idea grew out of a robbery in 2025. He was walking home from his office in Nairobi's Kiliman area when thugs on a motorbike stopped him. They stabbed him and took his phone and laptop. He told Citizen Digital that he lost all his contacts and documents, and vowed to find a solution. To create the alarm, Gilisho took a group of women from Kibra to a studio and recorded their screams. According to Gilisho, a thief cannot switch the phone off or turn the volume down once the alarm starts. The phone goes off only when the battery dies. If the thief charges it, the alarm starts again at 1%. He…
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