Resurgence of political goons as crime wave, anarchy surge during political rallies

Outright display of blatant anarchy and disregard for the rule of law has been the order of the day marking a spate of political events in Nairobi by hired political goons accompanying politicians best manifested during recent weeklong tour by President William Ruto and yesterday’s attack against Mumias East Member of Parliament (MP) Peter Salasya.

Salasya escaped what would have been an unfortunate fate after he was whisked away by police officers out of the Nyayo Stadium as highly charged rowdy youths attacked him.

The youths who staged the attack in full public glare projected an impression of being law unto themselves were left to go about their business uninterrupted.

Salasya was among the many Kenyans who attended the sold-out match between Harambee Stars and Gabon

While the five-day tours around the city by President Ruto were meant to popularise his recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and showcase the Kenya Kwanza development, some gangs were following him around and stealing from innocent Kenyans who were attending the rallies.

When contacted by The Informer Media Group, Nairobi Police Regional Commander George Seda confirmed a huge percentage of people who attended the rallies were there to commit crimes.

He said that 42 people have so far been arrested as they continue to analyze clips on social media and arrest more of the people who committed the atrocities.

“People were coming in the name of attending rallies but they were coming to commit crimes and we managed to arrest 42 persons who have been processed in court while others are in remand. There is deterrence and no one can walk free after committing crimes,” He stated.

“Let rallies be rallies and not places where people come to execute their evil crimes. We are analyzing the clips on social media and arresting the perpetrators even as we continue with our investigations. We want to ensure the situations are neutralized to come up with an enabling environment for everyone because innocent people attend the rallies to meet the president,” he added.

The police boss emphasised that even though people were robbed of their staff, it does not mean the city is insecure.

He assured Nairobians that the city is under their control and there is no need to panic.

During the rallies, pedestrians, motorists and business owners were robbed in day light.

However, the Nairobi police boss said that it is a social media perception and that no one was arrested around State House.

“Nairobi is under police control, and nothing is out of control. Things do happen, but that does not mean the government is on the negative side. As officers, we are doing our best to ensure the situation does not repeat,” he said during the interview with us.

Seda said their operations were enhanced after the Thika Road incident where motorists and passengers around Utalii College had their phones and other valuables snatched by robbers.

He added that the subsequent days were calm and that no one was robbed of their stuff.

“We enhanced operations in terms of planning and intelligence gathering as well as execution which led to a reduction in the rates of crime in the subsequent days of the rally,” he stated.

While people get worried as the election and campaign period get closer, the regional commander says surveillance shall be on another level to ensure Nairobians are protected from goons.

He advised that the operations to keep Kenyans safe during the campaign should be a national affair and not a regional one as every area has people attending rallies to commit crimes.

He says they shall team up with the society and other non-actors in policing in gathering intelligence to come up with good action plans to make Nairobi a haven.

According to Seda, should not cling to a one-day incident to mean the City is unsafe, officers are dedicated to doing their work.

The recent spate of violent attacks by youthful gangs are suspected to have triggered the issuance of a security advisory by the American embassy to its citizens in Kenya warning them about visiting Eastleigh and Kibera areas of Nairobi as they claimed to be hotspots of armed carjacking, mugging, home invasions, and kidnapping.

The embassy warned that in the selected areas at any time the police capability to respond was lower a claim that was harshly rejected by the National police spokesperson, Muchiri Nyaga.

According to Muchiri, the NPS are always swift in responding to alarms raised and there is no time there has been laxity.

“The Embassy exaggerated because when NPS is called to respond to a situation we do it very fast. An isolated case should not be taken as the norm, we are here to protect everyone in Kenya,” Muchiri affirmed.

Further, Muchiri dismisses claims that some criminals were released at the request of politicians.

“We cannot release criminals, we ensure the due process is followed and they are charged in court,” he said.

He added that the NPS will step up to ensure open unlawfulness is not witnessed.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has since condemned the attack against Salasya terming it as an “unfortunate” display of political intolerance.

In a statement, Mudavadi warned that intolerance undermines democracy, which thrives on open dialogue and respect for differing views.

“We won’t always agree, and that’s okay. But respect, dialogue, and unity must remain non-negotiable,” he said, emphasizing that respect must also be earned.

“A house divided cannot stand. Let’s choose reason over chaos and maturity over noise. Kenya’s future depends on it,” Mudavadi lamented.

In videos seen by The Informer Media Group, the legislator who was donning an AFC Leopards jersey is seen being kicked and pushed by rowdy and unknown youths towards the exit.

Others are seen throwing objects at him, while a few try to protect him from the attacks.

In another video, police are seen to have intervened as they took Salasya away from the crowd.

The crowd follows closely as some are heard saying, “Lazima aheshimu Raila” loosely translated “He (Salasya) must respect Raila”.

After the attack, a settled Salasya went to X where he only posted the word “noted”.

In another post, the legislator said that even though he had options, he decided to choose peace and that is the reason he did not retaliate.