NTV’s Dennis Okari Reveals Chilling Details of How Politicians Sponsor Dangerous Thugs to Kill

In an NTV documentary titled, Gangland: Killer squads of Kenya’s political underworld – Investigative journalist Dennis Okari visited different parts of Nakuru affected by ‘gang attacks’ led by ‘Confirm’.

He interviewed different people in aim to find details about the killer gangs. Among them was Peter Wainaina, a former most-wanted thug in Nairobi and reformed gang boss, who spoke up about how politicians enlist gangs to cause mayhem during election season.

In the interview aired on Sunday, July 10, he revealed that he entered the criminal underground while still a high school student and progressed through the ranks quite swiftly.

Wainaina was heavily sought after by politicians who wished to prevent their rivals from entering his neighborhood after he rose to the position of gang leader.

They gave him large quantities of money and specific orders to stir trouble when their rivals entered the estates to campaign for them.

“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,” recounted Wainaina.

Wainaina described a specific event in which a politician gave him Ksh50,000 with the instruction to set the neighboring mansion on fire.

The money was used to assemble a group of young lads for the exercise and to purchase combustible supplies like gasoline.

But after independently psychoanalyzing the order and determining the potential harm, he decided to back out of the agreement.

“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 stated.

Wainaina had avoided police bullets, made it through three mob justices, and gained the moniker “Too Sharp” by the time he rose to become a gang leader. Wainaina, however, has changed and is no longer a member of the more than 300 criminal gangs that are currently active throughout the nation.

During his rule, he observed that politicians frequently attempted to get young people drunk first before giving them a task since they were simpler to control in that setting.

“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 said.

However, after winning office, politicians ignore the youth and occasionally even kill them since they are a bother to them.

Five women were killed by a group referred to be “confirmed” in Bahati Constituency, Nakuru, less than a month before the August 9 general election.

Experts claim that the Nakuru killings, which appeared to be targeted, were done to send a message to both the political elite and the security establishment.

But Dr. Fred Matiang’i, the interior minister, initiated an operation that resulted in the capture of some of the gang members.

As the elections approach, the ODPP has identified potential locations for the gangs, according to the Director of Criminal Investigations Noordin Haji.

“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,” Haji said.