As the August 2027 General Election approaches, Kenya is facing a familiar threat: gangs accused of intimidating opponents, disrupting rallies, and turning public spaces into zones of fear. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has identified goonism, political gangsterism, and the misuse of artificial intelligence as major risks to peaceful elections. IEBC commissioner Francis Aduol stated that these threats need to be brought under control to ensure peaceful elections.
The warning from IEBC revives memories of John Michuki, the late Internal Security minister who led a campaign against the Mungiki sect in the mid-2000s. Michuki's methods, although controversial, disrupted the feared criminal network that had entrenched itself in public transport and parts of Central Kenya. According to the Kenya Yearbook Editorial Board, Mungiki had established control over matatu routes in Nairobi, costing operators billions of shillings through extortion and illegal levies.
Michuki's approach was uncompromising, and his confrontation with Mungiki offers important lessons for a country struggling to prevent criminal gangs from becoming instruments of political power. In June 2007, he declared war on Mungiki, warning that the government would not tolerate its activities. However, Human Rights Watch documented serious abuses associated with the crackdown, including extra-judicial killings of over 500 suspected gang members by police between 2005 and 2007.
The crackdown weakened Mungiki's visible operations but did not resolve the deeper problem of criminal networks exploiting political connections and weak accountability. Security expert Paul Wambua notes that force can disrupt a criminal organization, but without credible investigations, prosecutions, and action against its financiers, the networks that sustain it can survive. The threat facing Kenya today is the continued use of organized groups to intimidate political opponents and disrupt public gatherings.
Human Rights Watch has reported that armed groups have attacked civil society meetings and opposition political gatherings in the months leading up to the 2027 election, killing at least six people and injuring dozens. The organization warns that the spate of violence threatens a return to the human rights abuses that have marred Kenya's previous elections. The authorities are urged to break this cycle of violence by ensuring that those responsible cannot act with impunity.
The Institute for Security Studies has also warned that political actors continue to use young people to disrupt rallies and civic meetings, and that those who allegedly finance or organize them are rarely held accountable. The Kenya Human Rights Commission has documented 284 human rights incidents between January and July 2026, affecting 3,222 people, including incidents associated with goons and political gang violence.
On October 28, the Kenya Human Rights Commission, along with other organizations, filed a court petition accusing senior security officials of failing to stop organized political violence and prosecute those responsible. The petitioners want authorities to investigate the attacks, trace the people financing and recruiting gangs, and ensure adequate protection for lawful public gatherings.
Key points
- The IEBC has identified goonism, political gangsterism, and the misuse of artificial intelligence as major risks to peaceful elections in Kenya.
- The Mungiki sect was a major threat to public safety in Kenya, and its disruption has not necessarily eliminated the problem of criminal networks exploiting political connections.
- Human rights organizations are urging the authorities to take action to prevent a return to the human rights abuses that have marred Kenya's previous elections.
