Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has issued a stern warning to drug and illicit alcohol cartels he says are bankrolling political violence and organised criminal gangs, popularly known locally as “goonism.”
Speaking in Nyaribo, Nyeri Central Sub-County, the Cabinet Secretary said security agencies had identified individuals and networks using proceeds from narcotics and illegal alcohol to finance groups involved in political violence, and cautioned that they were now firmly “on the radar” of law enforcement.
“We have earmarked some of them, closed down their factories and are targeting those financing goonism. I want to tell them that we’re on their radar,” Murkomen said, without naming specific individuals or cartels.
The Cabinet Secretary said the government had significantly strengthened the Anti-Narcotics Unit in recent months, with targeted operations against manufacturers and suppliers of illicit drugs and alcohol resulting in the closure of a number of illegal factories.
He disclosed that 1,189 people had been convicted and jailed for goonism-related offences over the past four years, while more than 11,800 young people have been imprisoned since 2022 for gang activity and violent extremism, figures he said illustrated the scale of the government’s response to organised criminal violence.
Beyond enforcement, Murkomen said the administration was working to address the root causes that make young people vulnerable to recruitment into criminal gangs, pointing to ongoing youth employment and empowerment programmes as part of a broader strategy to curb the goonism phenomenon.
The remarks come amid heightened public concern over politically linked gang violence in parts of the country, with growing scrutiny of the financing networks that sustain such groups ahead of the 2027 election cycle. Security officials have in recent months signalled an intensified focus on choking off funding sources for organised violence, rather than only pursuing the perpetrators on the ground.
The Cabinet Secretary reiterated that the government remained committed to ensuring peaceful and secure political engagement across the country, warning that anyone found financing violence, regardless of their standing, would be held accountable.