While fear and panic reigned in Mandera County as result of an influx of Somali militiamen, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen was in western Kenya issuing his routine “stern warnings” to crack and bootleg whisky traffickers.

After two days of reports of foreign militia from Somalia laying siege to villages in northeast Kenya – including unqualified reports of shooting to death six locals – Murkomen ordered a crackdown on criminal gangs in Kakamega, Busia, Vihiga, Bungoma and Trans Nzoia.

Speaking in Kakamega during a Jukwa la Usalama forum, the cabinet secretary whose public pronouncements are interspersed with “stern warnings” that are hardly enforced, warned politicians against sponsoring criminal gangs to disrupt public functions or political gatherings. He warned that such individuals “will be dealt with firmly in accordance with the law”.

The cabinet secretary expressed concerns over rising incidence criminal gangs in rural areas in western Kenya, saying security officers are on high alert to deal decisively with the new threats.

“Whereas in other parts of the country gangs are prevalent in urban and periurban areas, in the western region there is prevalence of goons and criminal gangs everywhere even in rural areas of Busia, Bungoma, Kakamega and Trans Nzoia counties,” he noted.

Murkomen singled out politicians who hire goons for political expediency, fuelled by prevalence of drugs and illicit drinks.

The cabinet secretary said in the next one month, a major crackdown targeting leaders of criminal gangs and their accomplices will be rounded up to face full force of the law, regardless of their status in society.

“We want to ask the leaders to work with us and we are not just coming for gang leaders and their members, but also their financiers. It’s going to be punitive and painful,” he warned.

The cabinet secretary said a special security team covering all counties has been formed to deal with the issue of criminal gangs, noting that already 175 suspected goons have been arrested in Trans Nzoia County and arraigned in court.

He asked the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the judiciary to hand punitive penalties to all suspects involved in criminal activities, saying witnesses often shy off from testifying in court whenever such suspects are released on free bond.

He said security agents in Kakamega have also intensified crackdown on livestock theft, following which a number of suspects have been arrested and some guns recovered.

Additionally, Murkomen raised concerns over high consumption of marijuana especially in parts of Vihiga County and chang’aa in Kakamega County. The prevalence of the two substances have been cited by the National Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) as the leading in brewing and consumption of chang’aa.

“But I’m happy that in the last eight months, we have netted over 30,000 litres of chang’aa and suspects charged in court,” he added.

On defilement, the cabinet secretary quoted alarming trends of about 15-18 per defilement cases per month, especially in Busia, Bungoma and Kakamega counties, with over 100 cases in the last eight month alone.

“This is fuelled by drugs, illicit brews and cultural activities like disco matangas (funeral dances) that are banned by the government. There is also concealment of cases in which if incest is reported, relatives fail to cooperate with law enforcement agencies,” he added.

The cabinet secretary promised to bolster the number of security officers, saying an additional 10,000 youth are to be recruited into the National Police Service and trained while new vehicles for security patrols will also be acquired.

On the forthcoming by-elections in some parts of the country, Murkomen assured Kenyans of increased security during campaigns but warned those who may attempt to disrupt the exercise that they will be dealt with firmly.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By George Kaiga