By Lenah Bosibori
Nairobi County, Kenya: Kenyan politicians in Mombasa and Nairobi are working closely with criminal gangs to cause political unrest, this has hindered government to address the matter properly, a new report has revealed.
According to ‘The Politics of Crime Kenya’s Gang Phenomenon report by Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) researchers Simone Haysom and Ken Opala investigate the toxic relationship between politics and organized crime in Kenya.
“Urban growth, political patronage of gangs, and the criminalization of urban municipal services are inextricably linked in many instances,” read part of the report.
This has created lucrative profit-making opportunities for gangs and other criminal groups in areas characterized by high unemployment, especially among the youth.
Further, the report states that certain criminal gangs have become wealthy by providing informal services or taxing residents for transport, waste removal, electricity, and water provision. As a result, they have become deeply embedded in the everyday lives of citizens in Nairobi and Mombasa.
The Politics of Crime traces the evolution of this criminal economy from the colonial-era through the transition to democracy, the effects of structural adjustment policies, and the formal and informal privatization of urban services as cities grew rapidly.
The report highlights 11 key roles that criminal gangs play in politics. Despite the government’s tough anti-crime message and its unofficial ‘shoot-to-kill’ policies, this report documents systematic police complicity with organized crime.
The collusion between municipal police and cartels to extort money from the profitable local transport or matatu industry, the role of the police station in Kayole in Gaza’s land grabs, the alleged police protection of drug lords in Mombasa.
In the absence of effective state responses to crime, Kenyan communities have been forced, by and large, to develop informal security responses. Carefully targeted measures are needed to tackle the gang problem and the corrupting influence it has on Kenyan politics.
The report recommends;
The government to build a shared picture of threats and partnership between civil society and government – A granular and dynamic picture of the illicit economy is crucial to understanding the impact of criminal gangs, their political links and to develop responses to them.
Monitor the political use of gangs in the lead-up to the 2022 general election – Kenya will hold its next general election in late 2022. Campaigning will start well in advance of the poll, and people who live and work in slum areas expect to start seeing a rise in political gang activity in 2021.
Improve formal service delivery in Nairobi and Mombasa to close the space for organized criminal gangs to exploit poor provision – This will require analysis that incorporates a thorough understanding of the shadow economy and criminal power brokers operating in the matatu, waste, water, electricity and land sectors.
Seek political and developmental solutions to the rise and resilience of organized criminal gangs – ‘Tough on crime’ rhetoric and actions such as banning orders and police killings are counterproductive.
Support the media in the role it plays defining issues of organized crime, investigating corruption and crime, and highlighting root causes – The media plays a key role in facilitating public understanding of the gang phenomenon, investigating and exposing corruption and criminality, and increasing transparency.
