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They called violent shots during Kenya’s era of the ‘red shirt,’ when the notorious Kanu Youth Wingers sported the ubiquitous red shirts reminiscent of Red China in the dark days of Communism.
The youth wingers were the political KYM (kanda ya mkono) who executed hatchet jobs following ‘orders from above’ in the years when politicians often complained “money has been poured to finish me!”
Though a youth wing, there were over 50s in red Kanu shirts, black ties, black berets and black trousers harassing, intimidating and ‘arresting’ Kenyans.
They basically duplicated police work. Offenders received instant justice when not being held in ‘cells.’
Crime was on the down low where these political thugs actively operated. Politically instigated violence, however, escalated around election time when the youth wingers were summoned to keep opponents in check.
In their 2007 book, Kenya: The Struggle for Democracy, Godwin Murunga and Shadrack Wanjala note that these youth wingers were rendered impotent with the dawn of multi-party politics in the early 1990s.
These youth wingers later morphed into vigilante outfits like the menacing Jeshi la Mzee, Kamjesh, Jeshi la Embakasi, Baghdad Boys and Kaya Bombo youth and other merchants of organised political violence for
