Senators demand action on criminal gangs ahead of 2027 general election

Senators have raised concerns over the proliferation of criminal gangs as the country gears up to the 2027 general election, calling for the relevant government agencies to take action.

The Senators who were contributing to a statement sought by Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda on the floor of the House said there was a sudden emergence of criminal gangs in the country that is causing a worrying trend.

Ojienda sought a statement from the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations regarding criminal activities and public security, saying that in the recent past, Government agencies have mounted operations targeting criminal gangs implicated in extortion and robbery.

“There are heightened concerns over rising insecurity and threats to the safety and well-being of Kenyans. The situation has raised public alarm and calls for clarity on the measures being undertaken to restore order and safeguard communities. We would like to know the measures being implemented to prevent recurrence of gang-related crime and to strengthen security in the counties,” said Ojienda.

The Kisumu Senator sought to know what the government was doing in the form of the support mechanisms available to affected communities, including protection of residents, accessible reporting channels and rehabilitation programmes for former gang members who are many.

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargey pointed out that as we get into the election mood, these criminal gangs will be used to terrorise people for political expedience, appealing to the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations that what has been seen in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nairobi, Eldoret and many other counties should be dealt with once and for all.

Cherargey said there is a new habit where governors are now recruiting enforcement officers and then turning them into militia, where they flock and deal with Senators who ask questions and that when the Inspector General of Police appeared before the Senate, he was asked why he is allowing governors to recruit enforcement officers, then turn them into mini-militia to use for political expedience.

Mombasa Senator Mohammed Faki said that in Mombasa the criminal gangs were prevalent in Kisauni, Likoni and Mombasa City, stating that some of them invaded a shop in Mtwapa and that the Coast Region police boss had issued a warning that he had given orders that members of the criminal gangs should be aware that they will be shot dead if found terrorising locals.

 “It is worrying that the criminals have continued molesting Kenyans, with Shop owners now forced to close their businesses early because they fear the criminal gangs, even those who work in the Hotel industry at their own cost have challenges reaching home because if they are out beyond 8 PM, they will be risking their lives,” said Faki.

The Mombasa Senator said that the community policing law should be enforced so that the police and members of the public can work together to eliminate the marauding criminal gangs threatening members of the public by stealing from them, injuring them and even killing them.

Faki said that the courts should not make it easy for the criminal gangs by increasing the bond terms by making it even Sh 1 million so that they can desist from engaging in their evil activities, while calling for the police to be allocated enough vehicles to carry out patrols and surveillance, especially in areas that are affected.

Nyandarua Senator John Methu said that one thing that we cannot allow and must be condemned is the creeping back of lawlessness in our nation, blaming the laxity of the National Police Service in tackling this particular issue, which is a threat to our national security.

“We have seen a very dangerous trend of, occasionally, especially in political engagements, of armed gangs being escorted by the Police. This may look fashionable, especially when you have some opponents that you are running against. However, if we allow the gangs to exist today, tomorrow when the opponent will not be there, you will be the opponent that they will be engaging,” said Methu.

He said that a case in point is the very infamous Witima Church attack where former Deuty resident Rigathi Gachagua was attending a church service with criminal gangs being escorted by police in uniform using police vehicles said this something that must be condemned calling for the police to remain apolitical.

Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua said the issue of criminal gangs has become a nationwide catastrophe developing very high levels of confidence and impunity never witnessed and that during a meeting with the Inspector General of Police he drew his attention over a very sad state of affairs in Kitui County, where there is an ongoing conflict between a criminal enterprise; a cartel of selfish, greedy individuals masquerading as business people who are trading in our sand from our rivers by force.

 Wambua said that the local community is saying that the sand is its resource and must be exploited for the benefit of the entire community now and into the future and that criminal enterprise recently ferried gangs armed with pangas and rungus descended on a community along Mwanya River in Mwingi Central Constituency, seriously harassed and beat up people, killed one man, seriously injured five of them, raped women and just disappeared into thin air.

Narok Senator Ledama ole Kina said that while his colleagues were pointing a finger at the police, saying they are the ones who are failing in their jobs, and that the police should deal with this matter his concern is that they we are missing the point and that the best way to deal with the issue of gangs is for them to study the root cause of these gangs.

“I can think of two issues which is unemployment, unless we deal with the issue of rural-urban migration, there is no day that we will stop having problems in cities like Kisumu, Nairobi and Mombasa, the first thing we must do as the Senate is to work with our county governments and for our county governments to re- engineer their County Integrated Development Plans to incorporate projects that can provide employment to the youth,” said Ledama.

Tharaka Nithi Senator Mwenda Gataya said that they have to associate some of these issues with politics and that he had seen some instances where some of those who are in the political space, and during campaign, some people who commit crime and walk away, scot-free, without being apprehended.

Gataya said that some individuals in this country, out of levels of connections, have, in one way or another, manufactured serious issues to do with impunity, where people commit crime and that in some instances during campaigns, some politicians walk along with militia, carrying weapons, rungus and stones, terrorizing other opponents.

“We need to address this as a country, regardless of our political affiliations and where we want to push our politics. It all revolves around politics. We do not have to treat anybody with levels that they cannot be touched It is an issue that needs national conversation, and it requires serious action,” said Gataya.

Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja said that Nakuru County is notorious for these gangs, who now rob residents in broad daylight, with this menace scaring away investors, especially in Nakuru Town, which is a business hub, calling on the Inspector General of Police to act swiftly to stop this crisis.

Karanja said that if these gangs are not dealt with, even Resident William Ruto's efforts to support youth and entrepreneurs through the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Programme will be undermined, and that security officers must move quickly to restore peace and protect residents.

“People keep asking where the police are when robberies happen in broad daylight. The police must be supported to ensure their presence is felt everywhere, so that criminals know they will be arrested. We cannot allow investors to be scared away from cities like Nakuru, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu,” said Karanja.

Makueni Senator Daniel Maanzo said that Gangs have become a serious menace with the worst being when they appear at political rallies, creating uncertainty and risking injury to both leaders and the public and that at times, gangs operate under police protection, as witnessed during demonstrations in the city or even what was witnessed recently in a church in Nyeri.

Maanzo said that even when Parliament was stormed, attackers broke windshields indiscriminately, targeting both government and opposition members and that the Senate must take the matter seriously and the government must also address the difference between the rich and the poor.

“When wealth is not distributed fairly, when youth lose hope and when graduates remain jobless, many turn to gangs for survival. This trend, seen in parts of South America and South Africa, is now growing here. The government should act decisively and lead by example; if security systems collude with gangs, Kenyans will remain unprotected,” said Maanzo.

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah said they must examine the economic relationship between the struggling economy and the rise of gangs with many mobilised for very little money, simply to survive and that they must address the ecosystem that enables them.

Omtatah said that if they continue stealing from this country and turning it into a basket case, they cannot expect anything other than a scavenger culture thriving across the nation asking those destroying the economy to stop.

“The police cannot and will not be able to contain a country where people are hungry. Simply trying to cover up the problem will not work. We must drain the swamp and the swamp is the bad policies that are impoverishing this nation. Let us focus on developing our people,” said Omtatah.