The culture of goons, which is embedding itself into the fabric of society, seems not to be getting enough attention from the highest office in the land.
The President’s silence at the height of this situation has become deafening even as public outcry increases.
After the violence witnessed on Sunday during a Linda Mwananchi rally in Nyahururu and the one witnessed in Kisumu, which left 2 people dead, concerns have been raised by Kenyans across the country but in total contrast to the mood of the nation, there has been no statement from President William Ruto more than 24 hours later.
The violence grasped the attention of the Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, who spoke on the matter on his X page on Sunday, saying, “Hapana jameni, violence is a no... Reject and expose the sponsors and enablers of violence, whether notam, tutam, fotam, longtam or whatever other sloganeering.”
This statement was understood to mean that the violence was a major concern for the Presidency but no word has come from Kindiki’s boss.
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The President has not been particularly vocal about this worrying trend in the country. Presidential directives to the authorities mandated to deal with the goons have been knee-jerk, few and far between.
The last time the President pronounced himself on goons was on 19th June during the burial of the wife to former ODM chairperson Henry Kosgei, Mama Zipporah Kosgei, where he gave a directive to the Ministry of Interior to deal with the goons and their financiers.
The directive came after the disruption of a post-budget meeting at All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi.
“I agree that we do not want a violent nation. These goons are innocent children. They are being used by bankrupt politicians who don’t have brains. So, Mr Murkomen, Interior CS and your team of police, all the goons should be caned and their financiers should be looked for.”
Since then, cases of goons have been on the rise but the President has remained silent. Violence was witnessed in Keumbu on June 3, leaving one dead; another case of goons was at Pembroke Bridge in Gilgil on Saturday and in Nyahururu and Kisumu on Sunday.
Neither a statement has been released nor has any financier of the goons been arrested.
The President sits in the National Security Council and he receives intelligence briefings daily but still there’s no action being taken to bring the financiers and the perpetrators to book.
Dr Barrack Muluka, who is a strategic and political communication consultant, opines that the reason behind the silence is that the President is scared of losing the Presidency.
“Somebody is worried and somebody is worried about losing power. When the President came to power, he understood that he was now the owner of the country. He does not believe that it could slip out of his hands.” Muluka says.
Before that, the other time when President Ruto publicly addressed the situation was during the graduation of chiefs and assistant chiefs at the National Police College Embakasi A Campus on 1st December last year, where he directed the Inspector General of Police to act.
“Those people using the youth as goons and people being used to bring violence, pit people against each other and cause deaths are people we cannot allow. I have already directed the Inspector General of Police that legal action must be taken on all these people so that we stop goonism, which is endangering security in the Republic of Kenya.”
The directive came a day after chaos was witnessed at PCEA Kariobangi North church, where DCP Party leader Rigathi Gachagua was attending a service.
The opposition has been very critical of the handling of goons in the country, drawing comparisons of the situation with Haiti. Gachagua has been leading the onslaught, alleging on a number of occasions that the State is the main sponsor of the goons.
In one particular instance, after the deadly Saba Saba protests of 2025, the former Deputy President alleged that the violence witnessed was state-sponsored. This triggered a sharp response from the President, who came out to challenge the assertions.
“I hear that someone is saying that the Government arranged goons and people to destroy and burn down businesses belonging to one community. If that person is man enough, he should tell us who those people are.
He should write a statement and say it is a certain leader. Just making reckless statements is unacceptable.” Ruto said.
Notably, the response came in a few days after the assertions were made, showing that the Government is hell-bent on defending itself from allegations more than combating goons.
Questions have also been asked of the President after some of his allies have been mentioned to be involved with the goons. Nyaribari Chache MP Zaheer Jhanda, who is his close ally, was summoned by the DCI over the Keumbu incident but he has not yet recorded a statement with them. Why has the head of State not come out clearly to ask his allies to comply with the law?
Calls from his allies have been made to him to crack his whip. Nandi County Senator Samson Cherargei has in the past asked the President to sack Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen but the pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
The President has previously announced a focused crackdown on other issues like drugs and substance abuse in his New Year 2026 message but there has been no communication of a deliberate whole-of-government approach to tackle the menace of goons decisively before it gets out of hand.
The big question, therefore, is: Mr President, where is the place of decisive action against goons in your government?