Govt shifts focus to gang financiers and recruiters, maps 109 criminal groups

The government has announced a shift in its approach to organised crime, moving beyond the arrest of individual gang members to targeting the leaders, recruiters and financiers behind criminal networks as Kenya approaches the 2027 General Election.

Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration Raymond Omollo said security agencies are using intelligence-led policing to identify the networks that allow organised criminal activity to survive, regenerate and operate across different areas.

The announcement comes as the government says it has identified 109 organised criminal gangs and groups across the country, with authorities particularly concerned about the use of organised youth groups in violence, intimidation and political mobilisation.

The latest mapping represents an increase from the 89 groups declared illegal under Gazette Notice No. 10427 of 2016.

The government says the gangs are involved in violence, intimidation, extortion and other criminal activities, while their use in political activities has become a particular security concern ahead of the 2027 polls.

Omollo said the security response is increasingly focusing on the structures supporting criminal groups rather than treating individual arrests as the end of an investigation.

Through intelligence-led policing, investigators are identifying gang leaders, recruiters and financiers, linking separate cases and establishing connections between incidents that may initially appear unrelated.

Where evidence supports such action, financial investigations are also being pursued to trace proceeds allegedly generated through extortion, robbery, illegal businesses and other organised criminal activity.

The Interior Ministry said the work is complicated by increasingly decentralised gang structures and the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, particularly in vulnerable border areas.

Authorities are consequently strengthening multi-agency cooperation, community-based intelligence and collaboration with neighbouring countries where criminal activities cross borders.

The government has identified 38 groups in Western, 22 in Rift Valley, 20 in Nairobi, 12 in Nyanza, 11 in Coast, three in Eastern, two in North-Eastern and one in Central.

Between January 1 and August 31, 2026, security agencies arrested and arraigned 1,827 suspects over offences linked to goonism and organised criminal activity.

Trans Nzoia recorded the highest number of arrests at 491, while 729 convictions were secured during the period. Rift Valley accounted for 36.5 per cent of those convictions, while another 716 cases remained before the courts.

Omollo said the figures reflected a response involving investigation, prosecution and conviction rather than arrests alone.

The government's announcement comes against a wider backdrop of research showing that organised criminal groups remain a persistent security problem in Kenya.

A 2025 National Crime Research Centre survey covering 11 counties found widespread proliferation, persistence and resilience of criminal gangs.

The research identified activities including extortion, drug peddling or trafficking, robbery and political violence, and said the groups had far-reaching implications for national security and development.

An earlier government report on national security also identified organised gangs as a threat to public safety and economic progress.

It linked their activities to extortion, robbery, burglary, drug peddling, cattle rustling, fraudulent land dealings, murder and other forms of organised crime.

The National Crime Research Centre has previously described gang activity as causing fear and insecurity among law-abiding citizens, while identifying socio-economic vulnerabilities as among the factors exploited by criminal groups.

The government has specifically linked its latest security measures to preparations for the 2027 General Election, warning against attempts to recruit or mobilise criminal groups for political intimidation, disruption or violence.

“Violence, intimidation and the use of criminal groups to advance political interests have no place in that process,” Omollo said.

He added that security agencies would maintain visibility during political activities and take lawful action against criminal conduct regardless of who is involved.

The government said those who recruit, finance or direct criminal groups would face accountability alongside individuals who carry out violence.

The concern follows several violent incidents at political and civic gatherings in 2026.

Human Rights Watch reported in September that unidentified armed groups had attacked civil society and opposition political gatherings, including an August 16 incident in Homa Bay in which at least three people were killed, according to its account.

The Institute for Security Studies also reported that the Homa Bay violence left two people dead, 46 injured and six vehicles burned, while raising concerns over the use of youth gangs around political events.

The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has separately identified organised criminal gangs among the factors requiring attention in its roadmap for preventing electoral violence ahead of 2027.

At the same time, the Interior Ministry said the government intends to combine arrests and prosecutions with rehabilitation and reintegration programmes.

PS Omollo said many young people drawn into criminal groups are attracted by promises of quick money, while others may be coerced or exploited by people who finance and direct violence.

The government plans to work with the Probation and Aftercare Service, Kenya Prisons Service, county governments, faith-based organisations and community leaders to support people leaving criminal groups and help them return to their communities.

It also urged young people to take advantage of government programmes supporting employment, enterprise development and access to finance, including the NYOTA Programme and Hustler Fund.

The Inspector-General of Police has meanwhile directed Regional Police Commanders to take “firm, decisive and lawful action” against criminal gangs and organised violence in their areas.

Officers found, through due process, to have facilitated criminal activity or failed to take appropriate action will face administrative or disciplinary measures, according to the Interior Ministry.

The government has also appealed to parents, teachers, religious leaders and communities to help prevent young people from being recruited into criminal groups and urged the public to report suspected criminal activity through the Fichua kwa DCI toll-free line 0800 722 203 and police emergency channels.