The number of criminal gangs in Kenya has multiplied in recent years and their increasingly violent methods have created an environment of fear among citizens, a new report shows.
A machete sticks out from a tree stump near the central Kenyan village of Kiangomara in 2009, after residents fought back against the Mungiki, a violent mafia-like group known for beheading and skinning its victims. A new report identifies Mungiki as one of 46 gangs operating in Kenya. [Simon Maina/AFP]
The National Crime Research Centre study, released August 30th by Attorney General Githu Muigai, was prompted by the emergence of complex criminal trends such as terrorism, piracy, cyber-crime, corruption, drug smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, and sexual and gender-based violence.
To succeed in fighting organised crime, the police must keep up to date with ever-changing gang methods, centre Director J. Oriri Onyango said in the report.
"There is no doubt at all that the criminal activities these groups are engaged in have deleterious consequences on our society," the report said. "It causes fear and desperation in the lives of law-abiding citizens. To ensure a secure social, political and economic environment for investment, there must be commitment on the part of the government to confront the vice head-on in order to spur economic growth in the country."
What's in a name?
Some gangs have co-opted the names of infamous terrorist groups. Two of the nation's 46 organised gangs call themselves Taliban and al-Qaeda, and others go by such names as Baghdad Boys or Mafia.
Their nomenclature is meant to evoke fear among nearby communities, security analysts and officials say.
"The Taliban gang in Nairobi and Baghdad Boys in Kisumu are not involved in terrorism," Onyago told Sabahi. "But the gangs' choice of names is inspired by the sheer terror those names evoke in people's hearts and minds."
The report also names al-Shabaab among Kenya's 46 gangs because of its criminal activities in north-eastern Kenya. In this case, it is the actual Somali terror group and not a home-grown gang that co-opted the name, Onyango said.
Some al-Shabaab members demand money or jobs from politicians and religious leaders in the north-east in exchange for protection, he said, adding that some politicians succumb to those demands out of fear of being targeted in al-Shabaab attacks.
"There are leaders from the region who are vocal against the group and they are targeted. Some though have not openly castigated the al-Shabaab violence. To be in [its] good books, they align themselves to an individual al-Shabaab member," Onyango said.
Some of the biggest or most notorious gangs named in the report include: Sungu Sungu, Mombasa Republican Council, 42 Brothers, Kamjeshi, Sabaot Land Defence Force, Jeshi La Embakasi, Super Power, J-10, Siafu, Kamukunji Pressure Group, Kibera Batallion, Kenya Youth Alliance, the Nubians, Angola Msumbiji and Kamkunji Boys.
Although gang names can be intimidating, some take on more appealing names, said Nairobi area Deputy Police Commander Moses Ombati. For example, one gang calls itself Yes We Can, the slogan used by US President Barack Obama in his 2008 campaign.
Some gangs even register as agricultural co-operatives, religious groups or youth clubs to hide their nefarious activities, he said. "By the time we discover their real criminal missions, they have normally caused mayhem and fear," Ombati told Sabahi.
"In the Baghdad Boys, one of the leaders went by [the] alias Saddam. Witness accounts told us that he was ruthless. There are others who go by the alias Osama bin Laden and more recently there are those who have adopted Assad," Ombati said, referring to the Syrian president.
He said gang members routinely change their aliases to evade the police.
Origins of vigilante groups
Some of the gangs start out as vigilante groups to fill security gaps with the support and encouragement of law enforcement officials, said retired army Major Wilberforce Onchiri, a security consultant based in Nairobi.
He said security forces were responsible, however, for letting these vigilantes drift into crime and grow out of control.
"There are times when security of neighbourhoods or counties deteriorates to an extent [that] the security forces are overwhelmed. In response, the government encourages the formation of vigilante [groups] to help in restoring order and hunting down the criminals," he told Sabahi.
Many members of these vigilante gangs are jobless youths who use their positions to extort money from people and businesses, Onchiri said.
"We had the Sungu Sungu vigilante [group] in Kisii County, who were formed in the 1980s to protect the community from external tribal aggression and cattle rustling," he said. "Today, they are accused of carrying out criminal activities. They act as accusers, prosecutors and judges."
Kenyan forces taking action
Kenyan security officials are familiar with some of the gangs mentioned in the study and have been clamping down on them, Police Inspector General David Kimaiyo said.
"Some of the gangs are relatively unknown to us, but we are studying the report to extract information on their activities and areas of operations with an aim of neutralising them," he told Sabahi.
"Some of these gangs are armed and dangerous. They never hesitate to engage [police] officers in gun battles when accosted for arrest and investigations. We have lost many officers during the crackdowns, but when security officers kill the criminals, there are cries of extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations," he said, adding that the accusations of excessive force have complicated efforts to eradicate the gangs.
"While we seek to eradicate the gangs, we have asked the government officials and leaders to address factors like unemployment and poverty, which give rise to criminal activities," Kimaiyo said.
Another confounding factor is collusion between some errant officers and gangs in extorting money from citizens, he said.
Attorney General Muigai said government officials found to be colluding with gangs would face prosecution.
To stay a step ahead of criminals, the government intends to go beyond conventional crime fighting and embrace evolving methods, Muigai said in a news conference at the report's release.
"There will be more security presence in the neighbourhoods and [authorities will be] treating citizen information in confidence," he said.
Source - sabahionline.com
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