Murkomen to Senate: Kitengela gangs have powerful patrons

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen. [File, Standard]

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen claims politicians are hiring and arming criminal gangs in Kitengela, posing a threat to national security.

The charge lands just 10 days after police teargassed an opposition rally in the same town, killing at least one person.

Appearing before senators on February 25, Murkomen said Kitengela in Kajiado County has been a gang hotspot for 15 years, with criminal networks exploiting political patronage to entrench violence.

"Kitengela is facing a very serious challenge. It has been an issue for the last 15 or so years. It is a serious hotspot for criminal gangs that are actually utilised by politicians," said Murkomen.

The remarks come in the wake of the February 15 Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Linda Mwananchi rally led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, which descended into chaos after anti-riot police lobbed teargas into the crowd.

Opposition leaders said two people were shot dead and at least 50 others injured during the incident, with Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka calling it "state-sponsored repression."

Murkomen had earlier claimed police were not informed of the rally, alleging that goons had been ferried from Machakos and Nairobi to attend the meeting.

In a veiled swipe at a senator he declined to name, Murkomen warned that elected leaders who recently held rallies in the area and organised last year's protests were recruiting and arming youth with guns and machetes to provoke police.

"Politicians and particularly those who want to incite the public against the police have been hiring young boys, criminals, in the name of protest," he noted.

Murkomen said police operations had improved security in Kitengela but warned that political actors were reversing those gains.

He added that President William Ruto had directed his ministry to develop a dedicated metropolitan security plan covering Kitengela, parts of Nairobi and Machakos.

"This is a threat to national security," said Murkomen, adding that Kitengela's residents belonged to Kenya, not to any senator's political constituency.

He called on political leaders on both sides of the divide to stop deploying young people as instruments of violence, warning that the government's national police security strategy includes a specific plan targeting criminal networks in the region.