Kenya battles to stop the ‘goons and guns’ as fears of political violence grow 3 days ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google AFP via Getty Images Politicians are accused of hiring young people to disrupt opposition activity Wycliffe Muia Nairobi On a quiet Wednesday last month, a Kenyan politician stopped for coffee after getting his hair cut in the western city of Kisumu. Moments later, a group of hooded youths set upon Senator Godfrey Osotsi without warning – punching and kicking him, leaving him badly injured, stripping him of his phones and valuables before vanishing into the street. The assault was captured on CCTV. Within hours, the footage was everywhere. The police are still investigating but the senator said this was not a robbery. Rather, he alleged, it was politically motivated as he was asked by the attackers why he was not supporting the president’s re-election bid. The nationwide outcry that followed the assault forced Kenya’s parliament to summon the country’s top security chiefs. For many Kenyans, the attack felt less like a shocking outlier and more like a confirmation of something they had long feared – that the country was sliding, once again, toward an era of deadly political violence. Kenya’s history of politically sponsored criminal gangs dates back to the early 1990s and the reintroduction of multiparty democracy. Unemployed youths have been hired by various politicians and turned into tools of electoral intimidation. They were a major driver of the unrest surrounding the shocking nationwide violence that followed the 2007 election, which left about 1,500 people dead. And the stage is now being set for a particularly tense electoral cycle even though the next nationwide vote is up to 15 months away. AFP via Getty Images Embittered by his impeachment, Rigathi Gachagua is aiming to unseat the president in next year’s poll Bearing a huge grudge over his 2024 impeachment and removal from government, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is planning to run for the presidency. In addition, there is an open split within one of the main parties. This is all helping to raise the political temperature with attacks on politicians by hired youths – known locally as goons – becoming more brazen. Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen acknowledged to a parliamentary committee that the government was struggling to contain the groups that he said had evolved from street-level outfits into “sophisticated and decentralised networks”. Murkomen, who appeared alongside Kenya’s security chiefs, disclosed that more than 104 local criminal gangs were active in the country, many under the patronage of politicians “The gangs are owned by political leaders who play a significant role in mobilising people. It is chaotic. An irresponsible leader is a threat to national security,” he said, without naming any names. At least 300 suspects have been arrested, as the authorities intensified a crackdown against the criminal groups, with police recovering weapons and communication devices during the raids. However, no politicians were among those held. Successive governments have attempted to ban such groups, yet the problem has persisted with gangs mutating, rebranding and reappearing under new names each electoral cycle. They have developed into sophisticated organisations with a clear structure, a security source told the BBC. The former deputy president appears to have been a target. Since his impeachment, Gachagua has been subjected to a sustained pattern of violence, including being attacked by armed groups at churches over two dozen times. He and his allies have attributed the violence to state-sponsored criminal networks trying to derail his presidential bid. AFP via Getty Images Traumatic memories of the deadly violence that followed the 2007 election remain For months, opposition leaders and civil society groups have accused police of either colluding with, or turning a blind eye to, organised gangs that descend on rallies ar