Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has revealed that at least 579 Kenyans have lost their lives to mob justice in the last year alone, with Kiambu and Nairobi leading in fatalities.
He said that another 266 Kenyans have been injured in mob attacks since January last year, out of 845 incidents reported across all 47 Kenyan counties.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Interior, Kiambu leads with 58 deaths and 32 injuries, followed by Nairobi with 55 fatalities and 30 injuries. Kisumu is a distant third with 36 deaths, followed by Embu with 33 and Kirinyaga with 28.
Other counties with more than 10 deaths include Nakuru (27), Machakos (22), Vihiga (20), Kakamega and Migori (19), Siaya and Kisii (18), Meru (15), Bungoma and Nyandarua (14), Busia, Nyeri and Murang'a (13), and Kajiado (12).
The remaining counties have reported fewer than ten deaths related to mob injustice, with Marsabit, Taita Taveta and Tana River each reporting one fatality.
Appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, CS Murkomen expressed concern about mob justice incidents, stating that they often involve violent attacks and public humiliation, and sometimes result in fatalities before suspects can be formally investigated or prosecuted.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
He cited mistrust in the criminal justice system, with some members of the public perceiving investigations and court processes as slow, ineffective, or biased, as reasons fuelling the surge in mob justice deaths in the country.
The former Elgeyo Marakwet senator added that the release of suspects often reinforces the perception, prompting communities to take the law into their own hands.
“To have 58 deaths in Kiambu and 55 in Nairobi is alarming. This points to a very serious issue of rule of law. People don’t generally believe in the judicial and justice system of the country all the way from arrest to prosecution and conviction,” said Mr Murkomen.
Mistrust of law enforcement agencies
“If you ask why people resort to mob injustice they say the suspect will be released on either bail. The public do not understand that the justice system requires some level of burden of proof and sometimes they even blame the police when someone has been arrested, charged and released on bail,” he added.
The CS was responding to a question by Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda on measures that have been put in place by the national government to enhance police responsiveness to mob justice incidents, strengthen investigative capabilities and facilitate the prosecution of perpetrators.
The senator also wanted the minister to shed light on measures being implemented by the government to address public mistrust of law enforcement agencies and the judicial system, which are the key drivers of mob justice.
The minister added that abuse of hard drugs, circulation of crime-related content and instant justice videos on social media platforms have triggered copycat incidents of mob injustices as well as normalising violence as a dispute resolution mechanism.
Other factors include high levels of poverty and unemployment particularly among the youth, which lead to petty crimes which often provoke mob retaliation and subsequent mob injustice incidents.
“To reverse this trend, the government is conducting a crackdown on criminal gangs through targeted operations, arrests and disruption of their activities. We are also conducting a crackdown on drug use and illicit substance circulation to reduce associated violent behaviour,” he said.
He added that the government has also enhanced training of police officers on crowd control and their deployment to respond quickly to incidents of mob injustice, especially in urban centres, while all police stations are now required to maintain a standby team to respond to incidents, including mob injustices.
To address the public mistrust in law enforcement agencies and the judicial system, the minister said the government is conducting prompt and thorough investigations and ensuring that suspects are arraigned within the prescribed timelines.
“We have strengthened coordination with police to ensure mob injustice cases are prosecuted with sufficient evidence while also providing security for witnesses in mob injustice cases, encouraging testimony that supports successful prosecutions,” he said.
CS Murkomen admitted to spread of goon culture across the country, adding that it used to be confined to the urban cities, especially in Nairobi and a few other places, but the menace has now morphed into a national problem.
He pointed out that the goons are organised by politicians seeking offices, saying the practice is becoming an existential threat to national security.
“Kitengela is one of the hotspots for criminal gangs being used by politicians. This has happened in the last 15 or so years and not just recently,” said Mr Murkomen.
