Police officers have arrested 300 suspected goons in Nairobi and Kitale. This follows public outrage on the dangers of entrenching a culture of lawlessness under the very nose of the government.
The 'goonism' problem in Kenya has been building for some years now. Unfortunately, it has now reached a point it can no longer be ignored or be managed through press statements and the occasional arrest of hirelings. Goons have been photographed working alongside police officers to brutalise unarmed civilians.
The crime went a notch higher recently when CCTV footage from a Kisumu restaurant captured a group of young men surrounding Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi and questioning his political stand on the one-term presidency debate before assaulting him.
This prompted the Kenya Human Rights Commission to warn that the government's indifference to goonism infringes on the rights of citizens. Police officers' reluctance to act has destroyed public trust in the National Police Service.
As we move closer to the 2027 elections, the need to make the playing field level for all cannot be gainsaid. Complaints by opposition leaders against rising cases of 'goonism' have largely been ignored.
Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen speaks like a man who understands the origin of the problem, and has urged politicians to eschew violent tactics. He must not let coming elections be associated with fear, intimidation, or the use of goons. Having made the right diagnosis, he must now write a prescription. The police must act decisively to identify individuals who fund, organise and deploy goons.
They must face prosecution alongside their recruits, and not be allowed to watch from a safe distance as their foot-soldiers take the fall.
The greatest threat to national security, as Murkomen himself acknowledged, is not from slums or young people, but from leaders who consciously recruit goons to terrorise ordinary citizens. Arresting goons and sparing their paymasters will not end the problem. As long as those who hire goons are not punished, this problem will persist.
