The government has listed 109 organised criminal gangs and groups operating across the country.
According to Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo, Western Kenya has the highest concentration, with 38 identified criminal gangs, followed by the Rift Valley with 22 and Nairobi with 20.
Nyanza has 12 groups, Coast 11, Eastern three, North-Eastern two and Central one.
Omollo said the number had increased from the 89 organised criminal groups previously declared illegal through Gazette Notice No. 10427 of 2016.
The groups are associated with violence, intimidation, extortion and other forms of organised criminal activity, according to the government.
“Security agencies have shifted their focus from individual offenders to the networks that allow criminal activity to survive and regenerate,” Omollo said.
According to Omollo, currently, investigators are pursuing gang leaders, recruiters and financiers while tracing financial networks linked to extortion, robbery and other forms of organised criminal activity.
From January 1 to August 31, police arrested and arraigned 1,827 suspects over offences linked to organised criminal activity and goonism.
Trans Nzoia recorded the highest number of arrests at 491.
Authorities also secured 729 convictions during the period, with the Rift Valley accounting for 36.5 per cent of the convictions. A further 716 cases remain before the courts.
Omollo warned that the government would pursue not only those who commit acts of violence but also individuals who recruit, finance or direct criminal groups.
“Those who recruit, finance or direct such groups will be held to account alongside those who carry out the violence,” he said.
The government also says enforcement will be accompanied by measures aimed at addressing factors that make young people vulnerable to recruitment into criminal networks, including unemployment, poverty, coercion and promises of quick money.
The statement comes amid growing concern over the possible use of criminal networks to intimidate political opponents and disrupt political activities as the country approaches the 2027 General Election.
