Empire of goons: Anarchy as assailants join political supremacy battles in Nyanza

A worrying and dangerous trend is slowly choking the life out of Kisumu’s vibrant atmosphere as organised goons and political gangs take over the Nyanza region.

Investigations by The Saturday Standard have established a deeply rooted problem fuelled by senior government officials, politicians and aided by the police.

Among the alleged leaders of the gangs is Willis Akoth, alias World Boss, a key mobiliser for several leaders.

Akoth, a close ally of Interior PS Raymond Omollo, is an influential resident who wields immense grassroots support from several youths in Kisumu.

In recent days, Omollo has come under sharp criticism over his association with perceived goons and is believed to be among those who have provided the groups with a haven to operate.

Within the streets of Kisumu and in the dark alleys where political hooliganism thrives with wanton abandon, one name features prominently - Boy Akoth.

The soft-spoken, lanky man may appear harmless and insignificant from a distance but he is not just any ordinary resident. He commands unrivalled support of Kisumu’s youths and political goons and has modelled himself as a philanthropic man, who delivers the goodies of politicians in times of tragedy and during political events.

Akoth is the errand boy for politicians and a key mobiliser during political events. These mobilisation events, however, have birthed and strengthened political hooliganism in the region.

Here, his mass of allies refer to him as World Boss due to his influence and ability to command the listening ear of the youth seamlessly. This has made him a darling of politicians.

Yesterday, Akoth denied claims that he is involved in promoting political hooliganism and claimed his interest is in transforming the lives of young people.

He stated that he is a legitimate businessman who earns a living through several businesses that he runs. “I have a single business permit. I have a tax compliance certificate from Kenya Revenue Authority. I have employees, and I pay taxes. I am a businessman, not the head of goons.”

He further added that he has initiated legal proceedings against specific individuals who claimed he is a chief goon.

“I have instructed my lawyers to sue the one who associated me with thugs. I will win the case, and if anyone repeats the same allegations, I will take them to court. I have a family, and my reputation is very important to me. I have never been arrested by the police for any offence. I have a certificate of good conduct. I don’t have a criminal record. I don’t have any active criminal case before the courts locally or internationally. How can someone claim I am a goon? This is character assassination, and I will deal with them through the legal channels. I am a law-abiding citizen,” protested Akoth.

The latest incident of goons terror is the brazen attack on Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi that has lifted the lid of a pattern that reeks sheer impunity.

Some of the goons, it emerged, have also been associated with Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda.

On Friday, Ojienda admitted that two of his youth wingers have been implicated in goonism. According to Ojienda, the duo is part of his youth mobilisers, but he claimed he has never met them.

“I was having a meeting in Nakuru with my team, but the two did not turn up. I have already suspended them until they clear their names,” he said, adding that the emerging goon culture must be rooted out of the country. According to Ojienda, the goons have adverse effects on investors and cannot be accepted.

Barely a month ago, Akoth intervened when gangs attempted to loot Mama Ngina Children’s Home following an inferno, demonstrating his ability to rally the youths to listen to him.

In a statement on Friday, Omollo warned that decisive action will be taken against individuals involved in criminal gangs and political violence.

“Criminal gangs and political goonism are a national challenge that will not be tolerated. Any individual or leader who engages in or facilitate such acts will be held accountable in accordance to the law,” said Omollo.

In Kisumu town, the gangs have been causing havoc in various parts of the city, with areas such as Carwash estate, Obunga, Ragumo, Nyamasaria, Nyalenda A, Maseno, Nyaori area, Kasagam, Manyatta, Ogonyo Welo, Love Bar, among others areas bearing the brunt of their brutality.

This year alone, the gangs have attempted to raid a hotel where Siaya Governor James Orengo was holding a press conference, barricaded the Kisumu International Airport to block the ODM Linda Mwanainchi brigade from using the route to attend rallies in Kakamega and also attacked Osotsi.

So daring are the goons in Kisumu that even on Friday, as police presented in court, three suspects arrested in connection with the attack on Senator Osotsi, droves of youths identifying themselves as the Chude Chude gang thronged the precincts of the court, in full glare of the police.

Other gangs in the region are Mbogi, Nduthi culture and Katalang, with membership that includes teenagers. The web of goons is headed by youth mobilisers dotted across the region.

A member of the Mbogi group confided to The Saturday Standard that their activities mostly take place during the weekends when politicians fly back to the region from Nairobi. He claimed the pay varies and is always done through the mobilisers.

The source said the youths have been receiving between Sh500 and Sh1,000 to attend State-sponsored meetings and other political activities. However, some of the senior members pocket up to Sh10,000 to provide security.

For boda boda operators, however, the amount includes a full tank for their motorcycles. “The mobilisation is done through the various leaders of different categories. Unemployed youths also have their leaders who help with mobilisation for political events,” said another source.

Residents and critics say the groups are part of the criminal gangs that have been terrorising residents and are gangs for hire used for scattering political gatherings of perceived opponents.

They are mean, unafraid, heavily armed, operate under several code names and can mobilise within minutes whenever there is an opportunity to wreak havoc, disrupt a political gathering or attack opponents.

But to residents, the gangs that have embedded themselves into the daily lives of residents, as police watch helplessly, are a nuisance that should be dealt with, alongside politicians facilitating the goon culture in the country’s social fabric.

But as this happens, politicians are rewarding these groups with handouts, meals, alcohol and protection from arrests and prosecution through underhand dealings and political influence.

The groups are a darling to politicians in the region and the first line of defence against opponents and perceived critics, and are always on standby to undertake the bidding of politicians.

During empowerment programmes, they are among the priority beneficiaries for politicians and the government.

The daring daylight attack on Osotsi last Wednesday happened in one of the most protected facilities in Kisumu, located just a stone's throw away from the Central Bank.

The groups are at the heart of political mobilisation for political events allied to the leaders backing President William Ruto’s re-election, where they play the role of cheering squads and as an alternative security, clutching rods and wearing reflector jackets.

Interviews with residents, gang members and analysts established that the rise of political goons and the use of gangs is an open secret.

While not participating in political events, an offshoot of the gangs has turned into deadly criminal groups attacking and robbing residents at will.

Worse off, the gangs even engage in ceasefire talks in full awareness of the police and politicians whenever feuds between them or a scramble for politicians’ handouts go awry.

While leaders from the region claim the alleged leaders of the gangs are merely mobilisers for political support, residents claim they are the forces behind the surge of goons in the region.

Human rights activist Audi Ogada said politicians are the key enablers of the goons’ culture in the country due to their direct personal benefits from the disorderly youths.

“Politicians may be the last group of people to help in eradicating the goons. Most goons are actually created by politicians and are sustained by them for their selfish political interests,” he said.

Ogada, a former member of the infamous Baghdad Boys that unleashed terror in the 1990’s, accused the political class over what he considers as double speaks in their condemnation of the goons’ culture in Kisumu and the larger Nyanza region.

But the Osotsi ‘s attack was only one of the many such incidences in the city.

This month alone, at least 10 people have been killed in various criminal gang violence across Kisumu County.

The most prominent incident taking place in Ahero town in the outskirts of Kisumu city, where at least six people believed to be members of a brutal criminal gang known as “Chude Chude” were killed during a citizen-led crackdown targeting criminal elements.

The climax of the crackdown was at a home in Kochogo North sub-Location in Nyando on Friday last week, where three youths suspected to be members of the “Chude Chude” gang were flushed out of a house they were sleeping in and lynched by residents.

Upon their return to Ahero, the residents rounded up two people associated with the gang and killed them through mob justice.

Following the death of the suspects, the gang mobilised and engaged boda boda operators in a running battle, leading to the death of a boda boda operator.

Towards the last quarter of last year year, the Kisumu County Boda Boda Association Offices in Kibos were torched by the alleged members of the gang who reportedly accused the boda boda operators of killing one of their members.

Despite the matter being resolved after negotiations led by a section of civil society organisation leaders from Kisumu County, there was no love lost between the two groups, and in February this year, George Otobe, who was the head of security at the boda boda outfit, was killed by another gang identified by the riders as “Mbogi”.

Kanyakwar sub-location assistant chief Dennis Mbuya decried the nightmare that has been caused by the gangs in his area, including the informal settlement of Obunga slums.