Kenya fast becoming a safe haven for criminals

Something dangerous is unfolding in Kenya—a slow, deliberate erosion of the rule of law. State institutions, meant to protect the public, have become tools of suppression. Today in Kenya, you are more likely to die at the hands of the police than from criminals. For many youth, encountering the police is a gamble with their lives.

This is not a case of a few rogue officers; it is a system-wide collapse of accountability. The command chain is intact, and orders are being followed, but not to serve and protect, it is to silence and punish. Their weapons are not deployed against violent crime or organised syndicates, but against unarmed citizens demanding a better country.

Behind the scenes, the regime has built relationships with countries whose fingerprints are all over some of the world’s worst governance collapses: Libya, Sudan and Congo. These are strategic alliances rooted in mutual benefit, where each actor gains from impunity.

These foreign partners offer tools of repression: military hardware, intelligence support, digital propaganda technology, and conduits for laundered money. This network of protection has emboldened the government to act without fear of consequence.

Brutal killing of Albert Ojwang

At home, police brutality is met with indifference. Abroad, misinformation flows from coordinated accounts designed to sanitise the regime’s image and discredit activists, journalists and whistleblowers.

A new breed of investors has taken their place, shrewd, unscrupulous and deeply networked with power. For instance, the Adani Group’s proposed acquisition of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was only stopped by the sheer outrage of the public.

Gold smuggling cartels linked to Dubai, and arms trafficking routes that fuel conflicts in the Sudan and South Sudan, are now reportedly operating through Kenya. Some of these operations are facilitated by actors within the state itself, offering logistical support in exchange for a cut of the profits or political favour.

This week’s protests, sparked by the brutal killing of Albert Ojwang in police custody, were once again met with State violence. But this time, the horror reached a new low. In broad daylight, police officers worked side-by-side with armed militia to attack peaceful and unarmed protesters. Kenyans were beaten and robbed while the police stood by and watched.

This collapse of law enforcement, where the State conspires with criminal gangs, sends a dangerous signal not just to citizens, but to the global underworld. It says Kenya is open for lawless business.

Slow death of the State

Already, the vultures are circling. Just recently, a US-led operation uncovered a meth lab on the Kenya-Tanzania border in Namanga, owned and operated by a Mexican cartel. Investigations have also exposed an organ trafficking syndicate operating out of Eldoret.

This is what happens when a government stops enforcing the law and starts using violence to silence dissent. Politicians arming militias for their own political survival marks the slow death of the State. And if nothing is done, and fast, we will lose our beloved country to the rot from within.

The same forces that dismantled Libya’s stability, that turned Sudan into a battlefield of militias, and that have fuelled chaos in eastern Congo are now at our doorstep, some have already walked in. They don’t come with tanks or drones. They come with contracts, spyware and covert banking channels, leaving behind broken countries and broken people.

In this environment, it is not only democracy that suffers. Legitimate businesses, entrepreneurs and investors, who would otherwise thrive, are now retreating. There is no room for innovation where property rights are uncertain, where the law is applied selectively, and where political loyalty outweighs competence. A business landscape built on fear and favour cannot sustain long-term growth.

If we do not course-correct, we risk becoming the next cautionary tale—a nation hollowed out from within, whose institutions are only facades. Kenya’s future cannot be decided through backroom deals by those who profit from disorder. It must be reclaimed by citizens who understand that justice, truth and the rule of law are the bare minimum. Without them, there will be no future worth defending.

The writer is a whistleblower, strategy consultant and a startup mentor. [email protected]