US Homeland Security has included 52 Kenyan citizens in its public ‘Worst of the Worst’ database of non-citizens with criminal records who are targets of immigration enforcement and subject to removal from the country.
The list, maintained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), publishes details of non-citizens arrested for or convicted of crimes. The 52 Kenyan names on the list are associated with serious crimes such as homicide, rape and other sexual offences, robbery, assault, drug trafficking, fraud, check forgery and money laundering.
Among the Kenyan nationals listed is John Muyeka, who, together with accomplices, used forged checks and fake identification to acquire products from various home improvement stores in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts and South Carolina between December 2013 and February 2017. Muyeka and his accomplices obtained goods worth more than $2 million (approximately Sh259 million at the time).
In 2019, Muyeka pleaded guilty in a federal court in Newark, New Jersey, to one count of misprision of a felony. The offence carried a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Other notable names on the list are Osbert Owuor, wanted in connection with a weapons-related offence and a firearm-related homicide in Hawthorne, California, and Jackson Gichema, accused of a weapons-related crime in Hagerstown, Maryland.
The release of the ‘Worst of the Worst’ database c2omes amid an announcement by the US State Department that it has revoked more than 300,000 visas since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the number of revoked visas sets a record.
“With over 300,000 revocations, the Trump administration has revoked more visas at a faster pace than any administration in history. We are taking, and will continue to take, action to keep our borders, and our nation, secure,” Pigott said.
The US official also said the Trump administration has zero tolerance for “foreigners who commit crimes, fraud or undermine our national security.”
The ‘Worst of the Worst’ database is part of a broader US immigration initiative targeting non-citizens for unlawful presence and serious criminal activity.
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