Popular Kenyan TikToker and photographer Faustine ‘Baba Talisha’ has been left devastated after one of his stolen iPhones was tracked all the way from Ngong to Uganda — only for the signal to go dead once thieves disabled its tracking system.
The well-known content creator, who often documents Kenya’s entertainment and creative scene, says he lost not one but two phones during the Mataha Festival along Kiambu Road — a heist he believes was pulled off by an organised theft ring that targets crowded events.
“It’s not about the phones. It’s about what was inside,” he lamented, revealing that the stolen devices contained important work files and even court documents tied to a judgment scheduled for the following day.
The Digital Chase: From Ngong to Mukono
According to Baba Talisha, he immediately used Apple’s Find My feature to locate his iPhone 15 Pro Max shortly after it vanished.
At first, the phone appeared to be stationary in Ngong, Kajiado County, for nearly seven hours — giving him hope that it could still be recovered. He promptly alerted authorities and shared the coordinates.
“I tried calling the relevant authorities who were supposed to help, but weuh… I got really disappointed,” he confessed, expressing frustration at the lack of response.
Soon after, the phone began moving — and fast. The tracker showed it speeding toward Kisumu, more than 350 kilometers away, along the Kisumu-Nairobi Highway.
By around 11 p.m., the device appeared in Ahero, prompting Baba Talisha to suspect it was being transported on a long-distance bus heading out of the country.
“I could tell it was in a bus because it paused for about 20 minutes like long-distance buses normally do,” he explained.
Moments later, the phone crossed the border. Its final known location? Jinja–Kampala Road in Mukono, Uganda.
Then came the message every iPhone owner dreads:
“Find My has been disabled on iPhone.”
The thieves had successfully signed out of his iCloud account — cutting off all tracking access.
“The Thieves Are the First to Buy Tickets”
In a string of emotional Instagram stories, Baba Talisha warned his followers to be extra vigilant during public events, saying phone thieves are becoming increasingly brazen and well-coordinated.
“The thieves are the first people to buy those tickets because they know they’ll go home with over 20+ phones,” he wrote.
For the TikToker, the real loss wasn’t the high-end gadgets but the memories, data, and professional content locked inside them — work that now may never be recovered.
As his story continues to trend online, Kenyans are calling on authorities to crack down on cross-border phone theft syndicates that are turning tech-savvy artistry into a nightmare for the country’s digital creatives.
