- The word “goons” is very common in Kenyan political circles. Youth are mobilised to intimidate rivals, disrupt political events, attack protesters or create chaos around elections and mass actions.
- During Kenya’s recent protests, reports documented the appearance of groups of young men armed with batons who were allegedly mobilised to attack demonstrators.
- But there is a difference between a group of political goons assembled for a particular operation and a criminal gang that operates as an organised group.
- The latest Annual Report to Parliament on the State of National Security submitted by the Office of the President provides the clearest official snapshot of Kenya’s criminal underworld.
- Its comparative analysis of criminal gangs identified ten groups during the latest reporting period as serious threats to public safety.
- We take a deep dive into the shifting network of local criminal groups that emerge, disappear, reorganise and sometimes adopt new names.
The top 10 fiercest organised criminal gangs in Kenya include:
- Panga Boys
- Mutu Tatu Squad
- Mungiki
- Usiku Sacco
- Gaza
- Team Mbogi
- B13
- M23
- Team Kiroro
- Kata Hema
According to the report, organised criminal gangs in Kenya are involved in extortion, robberies, muggings, illegal oathing, cattle rustling, robbery, burglary, fraudulent land dealings, murder and drug peddling.
1. Panga Boys
The “Panga Boys” are a notorious and violent youth criminal gang operating in Kenya’s coastal region, primarily in Mombasa (such as Kisauni and Nyali) and Kwale (including Diani and Msambweni).
It derives its name from the weapon its members wield, the panga, a machete commonly used as an agricultural tool but also in violent crime across Kenya.
According to the security report, Panga Boys recorded the highest number of arrests among the gangs listed between September 2024 and August 2025, with 466 arrests.
The National Police Service and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have launched massive, intelligence-led multi-agency crackdowns to dismantle the gang. During these operations, authorities have recovered deadly weapons, including machetes, knives, and assorted stolen goods such as mobile phones.
Media reports revealed that the leader of the group, identified as Muso, was arrested by police at his mother’s house in Vipingo, Kilifi County. Intelligence gathering by the police had yielded key details about his residences, including the Vipingo residence and another in Mtwapa.
Following this major arrest, Coast Regional Police Commander Ali Nuno gave sweeping shoot-to-kill orders against members of the gang, who are posing a threat even to law enforcement.
2. Team Shamba
“Team Shamba” (or “Team Mashamba”) is an emerging armed criminal gang and land cartel network operating primarily in Kenya’s Coast region, notably in Kilifi and Mombasa counties.
The gang specialises in land grabbing, violent evictions, and illegal occupations of private and vacant properties.
Police recorded 33 arrests of gang members between September 2024 and August 2025, according to the Annual Report on the State of National Security 2025.
Members are reportedly deployed by land grabbers to execute forced occupations, disrupt legitimate land use, and terrorise rightful landowners.
In a recent engagement with residents, top police commanders in the Coast region warned parents against tolerating vices and defending criminal acts by their children, who end up in the crosshairs of law enforcement.
3. Mungiki
Founded in the late 1980s as a cultural and religious movement among the Kikuyu people, the Mungiki evolved into a violent, mafia-like criminal gang.
The group is notorious for extortion, racketeering, and violently controlling informal settlements in Nairobi and Central Kenya.
Despite intense operations during the Kibaki administration led by the late Interior Minister John Michuki aimed at eliminating the group, it is still in existence.
According to the report, authorities made over 300 arrests of suspects affiliated with the gang between 2023 and 2025.
The group allegedly forces operators in the matatu (minibus) sector, slum landlords, and local small businesses to pay illegal “protection fees”.
4. Jeshi Jinga
Jeshi Jinga is another emerging criminal gang based in Mumias in Western Kenya. According to the area police command, members of the group are youngsters aged between 16 and 20 years old.
They are said to be school dropouts who have overpowered their parents and live as vagabonds. While 18 members of the group were arrested between 2023 and 2025, 7 more suspects were nabbed by police while disrupting a local funeral in Mumias.
Police said most of them had been earlier arrested and charged in court but were out on bond. The suspects were taken back to court on charges of disorderly conduct.
Residents from Mumias East and West constituencies have in the recent past complained of serious livestock theft and armed robberies, allegedly perpetrated by clowns from the Jeshi Jinga squad.
5. B13
B13 is a notorious trans-national criminal gang primarily operating in the East African countries of Kenya and Uganda, known for violent muggings, burglaries, and armed robberies.
Media reports in Kenya place the group’s devastating activities in Uasin Gishu County, specifically in Eldoret City estates such as the Muyaka estate.
B13 is largely made up of youth aged 17 to 30 armed with crude weapons like machetes and knives. The rowdy gang has been connected to increased burglaries and nighttime attacks on residents.
In neighbouring Uganda, B13 has long been associated with criminal activity in Kampala, particularly in areas such as Kawaala and along the Nakivubo Channel.
The gang is believed to have taken its name from the 2004 French action film Banlieue 13. Over the years, it has reportedly grown into a large network whose members have been linked to offences including residential burglaries and street thefts, especially snatch-and-grab attacks.
Ugandan police have regularly conducted operations targeting the group in an effort to disrupt its activities across different parts of the capital.
