Political protection and patronage in Kenya have allowed gangs to flourish – and undermine the state's responses to the problem. This is one of the defining characteristics of Kenya’s gang world.
The Politics of Crime, a new report for the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime by Simone Haysom and Ken Opala, traces the evolution of this criminal economy
from the colonial-era through the transition to democracy, the effects
of structural adjustment policies, and the formal and informal
privatization of urban services as cities grew rapidly.
Urban growth, political patronage of gangs, and the criminalization of urban municipal services are inextricably linked in many instances. This has created lucrative profit-making opportunities for gangs and other criminal groups in areas characterized by high unemployment, especially among the youth. Certain criminal gangs have become wealthy by providing informal services or taxing residents for transport, waste removal, electricity and water provision. As a result, they have become deeply embedded in the everyday lives of citizens in Nairobi and Mombasa.
The Politics of Crime traces the evolution of this criminal economy from the colonial-era through the transition to democracy, the effects of structural adjustment policies, and the formal and informal privatization of urban services as cities grew rapidly.
For more information, visit gangs.globalinitiative.net.