Kenya: Nationwide Crackdown Ordered On Gangs

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Capital FM report from Nairobi dated July 23, 2026, reported that Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has instructed the National Police Service and detectives to step up operations against criminal gangs across the country. Murkomen said there was broad public agreement that violent groups, which he described as “goons,” should face firm law-enforcement action.

According to the report, Murkomen argued that the scale of the problem has been amplified by politics, while also acknowledging that politicians have historically used bodyguards and hired groups that later became violent. He alleged that some political actors were linked to unrest during the 2024 anti-government protests, including claims involving impeached former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Murkomen said authorities arrested more than 3,000 suspects during the 2024 and 2025 protests, though many were later released on bond or low cash bail.

Murkomen also said some church leaders who had previously defended people arrested during protests were now backing tougher action against gangs. He cited security operations in Busia, Kitale, Nyeri, Meru and Kikuyu as examples of interventions he said had helped restore calm, and defended prosecutions of people accused of organizing violence, including a Member of Parliament facing terrorism-related charges.

The directive matters because it signals a tougher national security posture amid recurring concerns over politically connected violence in Kenya. Murkomen told Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to use available resources and technology to dismantle criminal networks, while urging politicians not to shield suspects by framing arrests as partisan targeting.