Reformed gang leader and former most wanted thug in Nairobi Peter Wainaina opened up about how politicians recruit gangs to wreak havoc during the campaign season.
In an interview with NTV's Dennis Okari for the special documentary Gangland, which aired on Sunday, July 10, Wainaina noted that he joined the life of crime while still in high school and quickly rose through the ranks of the political underworld.
After becoming a gang leader, Wainaina was highly sought after by politicians who wanted to block their opponents from accessing his neighbourhood.
They offered him hefty sums of money with specific instructions to cause fracas when their opponents made their way into the estates for campaigns.
"I can't say I enjoyed High School life because I was in crime and had some money. I could maintain my lifestyle. In my estate, politicians often requested to meet me before coming in (for campaigns). I was a team leader and they would request me to block some of their opponents.
"We would stone their vehicles' windscreens and we did not care if people died because we had already been paid," explained Wainaina.
In a specific incident, Wainaina recalled that a politician offered him Ksh50,000 with instruction to set the neighbouring estate ablaze.
The funds were aimed at recruiting a team of young boys and buying flammable products such as petrol to aid them in the exercise.
He, however, backed out of the deal after psycho-analysing the directive on his own and assessing the damage likely to result from it.
"The politician will call you to a certain venue because they are not comfortable talking on the phone. The first thing he offers is money as he sizes you up. A politician can do anything to win the seat. He gives you money and asks you to recruit others.
"I had a lot of questions after I took the money. (The politician) wanted me to burn down the next estate. I questioned myself about who I was going to set a blaze and decided to squander the money. He had given me Ksh50,000," he added.
By the time Wainaina became a gang leader, he had dodged police bullets, survived three mob justices and effectively earned the nickname 'Too Sharp.' Wainaina has, however, reformed and is no longer part of the over 300 criminal gangs operating across the country today.
During his reign, he noticed that politicians often sought to intoxicate the youth first before engaging them in an assignment because they were easier to manipulate in that state.
"The first thing the politician does is buy youth alcohol to intoxicate them (so he can control them). There is a politician who told me he wanted the seat no matter what. Even if his opponent is killed," Wainaina remarked.
After their elections, the politicians, however, turn their backs on the youth and at times kill them for being a nuisance to them.
With just a month to the August 9 General Election, the gangs re-emerged in Bahati Constituency, Nakuru, where five women lost their lives to a group identified as 'confirmed'.
According to experts, the Nakuru killings, which appeared to be targeted, were aimed at sending a message at the security agencies as well as political elite.
The Ministry of Interior, under Dr Fred Matiang'i, however, launched an operation that netted some of the gang members.
The Director of Criminal Investigations Noordin Haji also noted that the ODPP has identified likely hotspots for the gangs as the elections draw closer.
"We have been able to identify our own hotspots based on previous election violence but we are also cognisant that maybe new hotspots may come in," stated the DPP.
