Interior CS KIpchumba Murkomen
Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen has put criminal gangs on notice saying the government will spare no efforts to neutralise them.
His warning comes just a day after the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) warned of a resurgent of outlawed criminal gangs in the country.
Speaking on Friday, Murkomen said the government has taken note of the regrouping of the criminal outfits, some which he claimed are mostly sponsored by politicians.
"I'm sounding a warning to all criminal gangs out there to either disband or face the full force of the law," Murkomen said.
The CS said the gangs undermine the country's peace and lead youth down the path of criminality, saying leaders who will be found misusing the youth to form gangs to achieve a political end will be prosecuted regardless of their political affiliation or influence.
Murkomen said he has instructed the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to work tirelessly to ensure they trackdown and dismantle the criminal gangs with immediate effect.
The CS was speaking during the launch of the Administration Police Service Road Map for Service Delivery Revitalisation and the National Government Administration Police Unit (NGAPU).
The NGAPU will be working closely with National Government Administrative Officers (NGAO) in the management of security in all administrative units, fostering a collaborative and coordinated approach to addressing emerging security challenges.
"Public servants, including NGAO, who will be found abetting these crimes will be sacked and charged. On the other hand, politicians financing or benefitting from the activities of these gangs are equally culpable irrespective of the office they hold or social status. We will prosecute them," Murkomen warned.
He asked the police to coduct thorough investigations into the emergence of all proscribed gangs and their activities to help in securing their prosecution and that of their sponsors.
Murkomen said he used the launch to sound the warning because during a visit to Kitale a few months ago, he witnessed an incident where gangs affiliated to rival politicians clashed during a burial ceremony and disrupted events at the otherwise peaceful and solemn occassion.
"A family is preparing to burry their loved one and suddenly because one politician has come with his own gang, another one comes with his gang, they fight in a funeral, family members are scattered, they cannot bury their loved one. We cannot live in such a country, it's not possible," he said.
Murkomen said the government will not help politicians who are unable to persuade the electorate to vote for them by looking the other way and letting them terrorise their opponents using criminal gangs.
On Thursday, NCIC warned that organised criminal gangs have regrouped in the recent past and were engaging in various gang-related activities, ranging from extortion and armed robberies to violent attacks on residents and businesses.
NCIC said the groups are increasingly active in various counties across the country including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Kiambu.
"The resurgence of these gangs poses a serious threat to public safety, hindering efforts to achieve peace, security, and socio-economic progress in affected regions,'' NCIC chairperson Samwel Kobia said.
