A Kenyan innovator has built a mobile security system that lets phone owners set off an alarm on a stolen handset using a separate remote control, while also tracking the device and capturing video of whoever is holding it.
Eliud Gilisho says the idea grew out of his own experience as a theft victim. The work was highlighted in a LinkedIn post that shared footage originally broadcast by CitizenTV.
A Personal Loss That Sparked the Idea
Gilisho says he began working on the technology after armed thieves riding a motorbike took his phone in 2025. The theft left him without access to his contacts and important documents stored on the device.
That experience shaped the design goal: make a stolen phone difficult for a thief to silence and easier for its owner to recover.
How the Remote-Triggered Alarm Works
According to Gilisho, the owner uses a remote control to activate an alarm on the missing handset and follow its location. He says the system stops the thief from powering the phone down or turning the volume down.
The app also lets the owner view video of the person in possession of the phone. Gilisho says the alarm keeps sounding until the battery is drained, and the remote can switch the phone back on once it has recharged to just 1 percent.
Why Financial Data Is Part of the Pitch
Beyond the cost of the handset itself, Gilisho points to the danger of thieves pulling bank passwords and other personal details from a stolen device as a key reason for building the system.
That concern carries particular weight in Kenya, where smartphones are widely used for mobile money and banking. A stolen phone can expose far more than contacts and photos, making device security a practical issue for financial safety.
A Safety Watch for Gender-Based Violence Victims
Gilisho is also reworking the remote into a wearable watch with a safety feature aimed at helping victims of gender-based violence reach relatives quickly.
He describes a setup in which users choose a keyword. When the function detects danger, it sends the user's location and video to three contacts and then turns off the user's phone. Gilisho says the feature could eventually be linked with the police.
What It Means for Builders and Users
The project is still described largely in Gilisho's own terms, and claims about how it performs in real-world conditions have not been independently tested in the material shared.
Even so, it reflects a broader opportunity for local founders: as phones become wallets and identity stores, tools that protect the device itself are becoming part of the financial security stack. Gilisho's next steps, including any police integration, will show whether the concept can scale beyond a single inventor's response to a personal setback.
Source: LinkedIn
