Rivals Hired Criminal Gangs During 2017 Elections, Says President Kenyatta

President Kenyatta says that criminal groups were hired by politicians during campaigns for last year's general elections to terrorize their opponents.

An annual report on national security tabled in Parliament by President Kenyatta said that some of the criminal gangs were responsible for poll-related chaos witnessed in different parts of the country.

“During the 2017 General Election, some politicians sourced the services of some criminal gangs to target their rivals,” the report states.

The head of state submitted the 35-page report to both Senate and National Assembly Speakers after he delivered his State of the Nation address on Wednesday.  The report, which will be debated in Parliament, further said that 104 organised criminal groups had been identified and proscribed.

“In Nairobi, criminal groups like 40 Brothers, Gaza, Super Power, remnants of Mungiki, among others engage in extortions, muggings, control of bus termini and peddling of drugs,” the report states.

The report names Wakali Wao and Wakali Kwanza as among most dangerous criminal groups in the coastal city of Mombasa, while Marines and China Boys are the most dreaded groups in the lakeside city of Kisumu. The report also says that remnants of the Sabaot Land Defense Forces (SLDF) showed a slight reemergence in Bungoma.

"Some politicians form militias to advance their own interests. These criminal groups have continued to hamper security efforts in some parts of the country, thereby slowing economic development," the report stated.

The Constitution requires the National Security Council, which is chaired by the President to report annually to Parliament on the state of country's security.

Other members of the security council include the Deputy President, Cabinet Secretaries for Defence, Foreign Affairs, Internal Security, the Attorney General, KDF chief, NIS director general and the Police Inspector General.