Police in Turkana County have accused politicians of financing and organising criminal gangs terrorising residents.
They warned that the escalating violence threatens the integrity of the 2027 general elections if those behind the networks are not brought to justice.
Turkana County Police Commander John Tarus and County Criminal Investigations Officer (CCIO) Bernard Wafula made the statement during the handover of officers transitioning from the Administration Police (AP) to the National Government Administration Police Unit (NGAP) in Lodwar Division.
Tarus, who was accompanied by County AP Commandant John Omondi and Wafula, said the AP-to-NGAP transition was designed to strengthen a bottom-up, intelligence-led security approach.
The officers will be deployed at the grassroots level to address conflict resolution, domestic matters, and crime within communities.
He directed all officers undergoing the transition to surrender government stores before clearance and urged them to be disciplined throughout the process.
But it was the commanders' remarks on political interference that dominated the occasion, coming against a backdrop of a series of violent incidents that have shaken the county in recent months.
Last year, Turkana South MP Dr Ariko Namoit's bodyguard was violently relieved of his firearm in an incident that raised alarm over the safety of public officials in the county.
The case was forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Lodwar.
The matter is waiting with no arrests made to date.
Last week, Namoit spoke publicly about the matter, expressing frustration at the lack of progress in the case.
Two weeks ago, Abraham Losinyen, the ODM Deputy Chairman for Turkana County, was attacked by suspected goons, seriously injured, and his vehicle vandalised in broad daylight.
The assault drew widespread condemnation from political leaders across the country.
Turkana Central MP Emathe Namwar publicly condemned the attack on Losinyen, warning that he would not tolerate goonism in Turkana Central and calling out politicians who deploy other people's children for personal political gain.
The two incidents are among several cases that have piled up at the ODPP offices in Lodwar, with residents and leaders growing increasingly frustrated at the slow pace of prosecutions.
Five suspects have since been arrested in connection with the assault on Losinyen and are currently in custody, facing serious charges.
Wafula confirmed the nature of the charges. "We have preferred charges not lesser than robbery with violence because that is exactly what they committed," he said.
Tarus accused unnamed politicians of systematically recruiting youth into criminal networks and deploying them as enforcers, while engineering their own escape from legal accountability.
"Any youth who accepts being misused by certain politicians must understand they will face the law alone.
Those politicians will not associate with criminals when arrests are made, even if they were behind the schemes. They will protect their image and distance themselves from you," Tarus said.
No politicians have been formally named or arrested in connection with the violence at the time of publication.
Tarus was unambiguous that the crackdown was directly tied to the 2027 election cycle, warning that criminal infrastructure was being deliberately constructed to control political outcomes through fear and intimidation.
"As we approach the national elections, we cannot allow the peace of our people to be disturbed," he said.
Wafula identified three compounding threats corroding the county's security: gang activity, the presence of illegal aliens, and narcotics trafficking, and said all three were being targeted simultaneously.
"What is disturbing Turkana is goonism, the presence of illegal aliens, and drugs such as narcotics. We are moving decisively to curb all these criminal activities," Wafula said.
He added that security agencies had concluded a series of strategic meetings and shifted to full operational deployment, with targeted sweeps underway across Lodwar town, the airstrip area, the animal sale yard, Kakuma Sub-county, and Lodwar Central.
On the streets of Lodwar, residents welcomed the arrests but expressed deeper fears about the scale of political sponsorship behind the violence.
Peter Ekiru, a senior resident in Lodwar town and sought anonymity due to safety concerns, said the crackdown must reach beyond the foot soldiers. "This is good, but we want them to go after the big people, not just the youth.
Everyone knows who is paying these boys. Arrest the ones giving the orders," he said.
Simon Nakuwa, a market trader in Lodwar Central, warned that unpunished political goonism risked turning the 2027 elections into a contest of organised violence rather than democratic choice.
"If one politician can hire goons, what stops every politician from doing the same? If each candidate arrives in 2027 with his own militia, we will not be choosing leaders, we will be surrendering to whoever has the most dangerous boys," he said.
Turkana North Member of Parliament Shariff Ekuwam Nabuin also weighed in, condemning the rising tide of political violence in the county and calling for the full force of the law to be applied against those orchestrating it.
"What is happening in Turkana is unacceptable. Politicians who use young people as weapons must be held accountable, not just the youth they send. We cannot build a peaceful country on a foundation of fear and impunity," Nabuin said.
Francis Akuta, a businessman in Kakuma, said the crackdown would only carry weight if it resulted in the prosecution of those financing the violence, not just those carrying it out.
"Security agencies have spoken like this before. What we need to see is a politician arrested, not just the youth.
Until that day comes, this is noise. Powerful noise, but noise," he said.
Wafula directed a final warning at the youth being recruited into political violence. "When you follow politicians for a few coins and disturb people's peace, you are stealing and causing chaos, and when we catch you, you will rot in jail while the person who sent you continues enjoying life.
Stay away from goonism, or we will come for you," he said.
No political figures have been arrested or formally named in connection with the violence at the time of publication. Security operations across the county are ongoing.
