2023 crime and security roundup: A revisit

Slain LGBTQ activist Edwin Kiptoo alias Chiloba. [Courtesy]

Nairobi Hospital's Finance Director Eric Maigo was killed in September 2023. The Standard obtained exclusive footage of the main suspect who was captured on CCTV escaping from the scene of Maigo's murder on the morning of October 15, at the Jamhuri area of Nairobi.

Naftali Kinuthia was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the cold-blooded murder of university student Ivy Wangechi outside Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in 2019, bringing the four-year murder trial to a close.

Insecurity in the North

2023 saw the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki issue stern warnings to cattle rustlers in the larger Kerio Valley vowing to crash them and bring the long tradition to a close.
Several boots were also dispatched to the North Rift region this year, where many herds of cattle were stolen and several lives lost.

What shocked many was when cattle rustlers stormed a government hospital in Iten town and rescued their colleague who was undergoing treatment after being shot by police.

Police Reforms and Transfers

The retired Chief Justice David Maraga led a task force formed to look into the welfare of police, prisons, and National Youth Service (NYS) officers and recommended far-reaching changes including a 40 percent salary rise and disbandment of the current National Police Service Commission (NPSC).

Azimio la Umoja supporters during the recent anti-government demos in Nakuru on July 12, 2023. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Still, on matters of crimes and justice, Judge Jessie Lessit handed long prison sentences to a former police officer, two serving ones, and their civilian informant for the 2016 murder of human rights lawyer Willie Kimani.

Haiti Security Mission

Kenyan parliament on November 16, 2023, approved the deployment of a thousand police officers to Haiti, plunged into chaos and gang violence, as part of a UN-backed mission, despite widespread criticism.

2023 also saw the re-emergence of Mungiki, forcing Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to order security heads to crack down on the resurgence of the outlawed sect in Central Kenya and sections of Nairobi.