Bill to fight organised crime on the way

A new law is being developed to tackle organised crime in Kenya, a minister has said.

Internal Security minister Prof George Saitoti said the Attorney General is preparing the new Organised Crime Bill, which is expected to deal effectively with organised gangs operating in various parts of the country.

Prof Saitoti made the revelations during debate before the adoption of a report on an investigation by the Committee on Administration and National Security on killings by the outlawed Mungiki sect in Mathira in April.

The minister, however, admitted the police have failed to adequately deal with the criminal gangs, which continue to terrorise citizens in various parts of the country.

He said the formation of the task force on police reform, which has since ended its work and handed over a report, would help deal with the inadequacies of the force.

He said a memorandum on the report has been prepared for Cabinet approval before the reform process can get into gear and this would be boosted by the political will there is to reform the police force.

The report of the committee chaired by Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi recommended the formation of an in-house committee to identify and weed out police officers with links to organised crime.

Prof Saitoti said the more urgent need is to deal with youth unemployment, which he cited as a major contributor to the growth of organised criminal groups such as the Mungiki.

The minister said he had ordered the Police Commissioner to investigate the killing of Mungiki spokesman Njuguna Gitau, which has been viewed as an extra-judicial killing.

“Officers who are found to have committed these crimes will be treated as criminals. None will be spared,” said Prof Saitoti.

Mungiki have a stranglehold on the transport sector, which contributes most of their funding through protection fees paid to the sect’s members, especially in parts of Nairobi and Central Province.

Mr Kapondi asked the minister to come up with new strategies to deal with organised groups as those in place had failed to deal with the gangs. He said the problem is likely to erode Kenya’s progress towards becoming a middle-income economy by the year 2030 as outlined in the economic blueprint.

The report was later adopted, a formality that means MPs approve its contents.