Goons a threat to credible polls as police remain aloof

Kenya's world of political violence and goonism .[ File]

One year to the General Election, untamed political goonism is causing serious concern in a country where gangs have been disrupting rallies, intimidating rivals and suppressing civic activities.

The goon culture, if not nibbed in the bud, pose potent threat to credible and peaceful elections on August 10, 2027 when Kenyans across the country will troop to polling centres to elect their next Member of County Assembly, Member of Parliament, Woman Representative, Senator, Governor and President.

 The fragile security situation being witnessed in the country is cause of worry that this important exercise next year might not be smooth as long as gangs are allowed to thrive.

 There is growing fear, credibility of the electioneering process might be compromised if the environment continues to be unsafe.

 Already several stakeholders among them religious leaders, election observers, political leaders, security experts, and Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) – the body charged with responsibility of conducting and supervising elections – have expressed concern over the escalating political tensions.

 Political violence replicated in Ol Kalou during the by-election when hooded men believed to be police officers working in cohorts with hired goons unleashed violence that left two locals dead and several others injured.

 The unfortunate scenes in Ol Kalou constituency underscored the level of political intolerance and police partiality while highlighting the soft underbelly of National Police Service (NPS) – an institution that is expected to play a major role during this important democratic exercise. 

 This is when police officers assisted by those from other disciplined services will be required to maintain law and order, protect election officials and voters besides securing polling stations and election materials.

 Amid doubts over its role in ensuring peaceful polls, NPS since last year has been laying strategies in readiness for the exercise that is now eleven months away.

 On October 9, 2025, senior officers held a consultative meeting with United Nations (UN) representatives. The forum chaired by John Kamau, director of Police Reforms, assessed NPS’s level of preparedness. The UN delegation was led by Akinyemi Adegbola, head of the UN Electoral Needs Assessment Mission.

 Kamau acknowledged the continued partnership and support from UN in strengthening democratic processes in Kenya, particularly in fostering peaceful and secure elections.

 “The National Police Service continues to play a critical role in safeguarding the electoral process through enhanced preparedness measures. These include specialised training for officers, strategic deployment planning, inter-agency coordination, and community engagement initiatives aimed at building public trust and confidence,” stated the Assistant Inspector General.

 He assured officers were committed to upholding human rights, maintaining neutrality, and exercising professionalism.

“Through these principles, the NPS strives to provide a secure environment that enables citizens to freely exercise their democratic rights without fear or intimidation,” pledged Kamau.

 But ten months later following the consultative meeting, there is hardly convincing indictors of police readiness for the enormous task that lie ahead with Malava, Mbeere North and Ol Kalou by-elections testing their ability and capacity to safe guard polls.

 In the three constituencies, voting was marred by chaos exposing police ill-preparedness as political violence and thuggery took centre stage.

 Further, the existence of criminal gangs at the beck and call of politicians, raises eyebrows over the commitment of police officers in the election process. On several occasions, they have not been ruthless against goons, especially those enlisted by pro-government politicians.

 The inability to secure by-elections and deal with goons has left many Kenyans wondering whether police will be able to oversee a peaceful General Election next year.

 Critics are worried that police lack the wherewithal to effectively deal with political violence – a weakness that might compromise the integrity and outcome of the polls.

 “We are living in dangerous times, goonism is becoming a culture and this trend is terrifying Kenyans. We have weaponized goons and ahead 2027 elections, they will be used as lethal weapons,” warned Col (Rtd) James Chemiati, a security analyst.

 The goonism phenomenon has taken root, leaving a trail of bloodshed and destructions as law enforcement appear helpless in the face emboldened criminal gangs.

 “Right now, they appear to be random but soon a leadership will emerge within their rank and file. God forbid, once a leadership emerges the country will be on the edge, and reversing the situation might never be easy,” warned Chemiati.

 The National Crime Research Centre (NCRC) last year in a survey, raised concerns over security threats posed by gangs ahead of elections, warning that if they are not tamed, they pose serious security threats in a charged electioneering period.

 The State-funded agency found out that there are more than 300 gangs linked to serious crimes like murder, contracted killing, kidnapping, human trafficking, rape, defilement, extortion, and robbery among others.

 The research released in April established that the criminal gangs had permeated most of the key sectors of the country’s economy hence the need of adequate measures to stop them.

 “The high infiltration of the security sector suggests that criminal gangs have established networks with law enforcement agencies, leading to possible compromised investigations, protection of criminals, and potential misuse of State resources,” read the survey titled ‘The Proliferation and Resilience of Criminal Gangs in Kenya’.

 The existence and survival of these gangs was largely linked to peer pressure and influence, vulnerabilities associated with unemployment and poverty, availability of illegal drugs, broken or poor support networks, and political exploitation.

 “The proliferation and resilience of criminal gangs present a growing challenge to national security. Across Kenya, these gangs engage in criminal activities such as extortion, drug peddling and trafficking, robbery, and political violence with far-reaching implications on the county’s development,” stated the research that was immediately dismissed by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen who termed the findings as exaggerated.

 Despite Murkomen trying to downplay the survey, it is believed that these criminal gangs are the same that are hired to cause political violence. And it is feared they will come in handy during campaigns and voting day.

 Hired criminal gangs known in the political parlance as goons are frequently financed and mobilised by politician to harass rivals, interrupt rallies, suppress dissent and even rig elections. In exchange, gang members receive protection, monetary favours, and protection from law enforcement.

 Political thuggery perpetuated by goons was recently witnessed in Keumbu, Kisii County, where a convoy of Linda Mwananchi Movement came under attack.

 A similar security breach was experienced at St. Stephen's ACK Cathedral in Kisumu where armed goons attempted to storm during a Sunday service, and at All Saints’ Cathedral in Nairobi where a criminal gang twice disrupted a peaceful civic forum discussing the 2026/2027 Financial Statement.

 Other ugly incidences include the attack in January at St. Peter’s ACK Witima church in Othaya by masked men believed to police officers in company of armed goons. The intruders fired live bullets while lobbying teargas canisters.

 Kenyans are worried that this pattern of violence is a rehearsal of 2027 when political activities will heighten. Campaigns will intensify while political parties will conduct nominations for candidates ahead of elections in August.

 Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations (KARA) condemns the goon culture, accusing politicians of sponsoring, financing, and mobilising goons to intimidate opponents, disrupt peaceful gatherings, vandalize property and terrorise innocent citizens.

 The Association’s Chief Executive Officer Henry Ochieng has cautioned that normalisation of political violence and lawlessness pose a threat to democracy, public order, and national cohesion.

 “Kenyans are increasingly questioning whether criminals and politically sponsored gangs are operating with impunity. This perception is dangerous because it weakens public confidence in law enforcement and the justice system. The government must act swiftly and decisively to restore that confidence through visible enforcement of the law,” noted the KARA boss.

 In April this year while issuing a warning over the unfortunate involvement of criminal gangs in political contests, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) blamed law enforcers for condoning the goons, and called for the resignation of Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja for failing to uphold law and order.

 According to the Commission, security agencies had failed to intervene as “state-backed goons” violently disrupted political meetings, voter registration exercises, and public events in several parts of the country – raising concerns of a growing pattern of political violence and impunity.

 "KHRC condemns the use of state-backed goons to violently disrupt lawful political activities and the ongoing voter registration drive," said KHRC in a statement and called for the resignation of Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja.

 The organisation warned that the pattern of attacks signaled a worrying trend of impunity, and that continued tolerance and use of goons to disrupt lawful political and civic activities undermined constitutional freedoms while eroding public trust in security agencies, and threatening democratic participation.

 "The Inspector General of Police should resign for failing to uphold law and order and protect citizens during civic actions," added the Commission.

The National Police Service, however, rejected suggestions that it was part of political goonism and said it was taking steps to confront the problem.

NPS spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga, speaking on behalf of Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, said police had been instructed to take firm action against individuals involved in political violence.

“The National Police Service is not part of the goons. That’s unacceptable because goons are actually criminals.  And we cannot have police officers who are also criminals. Where we have them as criminals, then they'll be dealt with as such,” Nyaga warned.

However, he acknowledged the possibility of officers being involved in political goonism.

“Even in organizations we have challenges, we still have some rotten apples in whatever organisations, but they’re going to be dealt with as rotten apples,” he said.

Nyaga said a special team at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters had been assigned to investigate cases linked to political goonism, including incidents where police officers may have been involved or failed to prevent violence.

He said NPS was also mapping areas considered vulnerable to goonism as part of preparations for the 2027 elections.

“The continued mapping of goons and areas is currently underway, because we’ve been able to also identify and say we have very high, and moderate situations when it comes to goons as we move towards the general election,” he said.

The police spokesperson said police commanders would be held personally accountable for incidents occurring within their areas of responsibility.

“If an incident happens at a particular spot, then the commander responsible for that area is going to be personally accountable. He has to tell us exactly what happened, why it was not stopped,” Nyaga said, adding they are moving towards intelligence-led operations rather than waiting for violence to occur.

Additional reporting by Jacinta Mutura