Kenya a hotbed of organised crime, new report says

In East Africa, Kenya is the highest scoring for criminality in the nine-country region, and is ranked fourth in Africa. 

Kenya continues to remain a significant hub for organized crime in the continent with the country recording some of the highest cases of human trafficking, cyber crimes, smuggling, drug trade, extortion and protection racketeering as well as arms trafficking.

This is according to a report released by the Enhanced Africa’s Response to Transnational Organized Crime, ENACT, which tracks and investigates cases of organized crime and criminal activities in Africa and across the globe.

The report, which is a computation of the levels of organised criminal activities committed within a country and the levels of government resilience in fighting those activities, argues that Kenya falls within the bracket of high criminality and low resilience.

The new findings are part of the latest ENACT Organised Crime Index for Africa which is officially set to be released in Nairobi next week.

According to the report, Kenya’s average criminality score is about 7.02 out of 10, indicating significant to severe influence of organised criminality. Equally, the county also scored an average 5.33 for resilience, meaning only moderately effective resilience measures are in place.

These averages, the report argues, surpass the continental averages for both criminality (5.25) and resilience (3.25).

Some of the crimes said to have been committed and are prevalent in the country include cases of human trafficking, human smuggling, extortion and protection racketeering, arms trafficking, trade in counterfeit goods, heroin trade and cocaine trade.

The country also recorded increased cases of cannabis trade, synthetic drug trade, cyber dependent crimes and financial crimes. 

At the global level, it is ranked 16th out of 194 countries. In terms of regional dynamics, East Africa is the highest-scoring region on the continent for overall criminality (5.88) followed by West Africa (5.44). 

ENACT Organised Crime Index for Africa

“These illicit markets have a negative impact on nearly all parts of Kenyan society. Furthermore, these criminal markets are not only highly profitable, but also increasing in their pervasiveness,” the report argues.

“Scores for criminal markets are based on both the value and reach of each market. Value refers to a market’s monetary value; reach measures the non-monetary impact a market has on the state,” it added. 

The ENACT Index ranks all 54 countries on the continent according to their levels of criminality on a score from 1 to 10 (lowest to highest levels of criminality) and according to their resilience to organised crime from 1 to 10 (lowest to highest resilience levels).

It however, cautions that the Index is not only an analytical exercise with the evidence presented designed to be used by policymakers and civil society as a tool to effect meaningful, sustainable change.

In East Africa, Kenya is the highest scoring for criminality in the nine-country region, and is ranked fourth in Africa. 

At the global level, it is ranked 16th out of 194 countries. In terms of regional dynamics, East Africa is the highest-scoring region on the continent for overall criminality (5.88) followed by West Africa (5.44). 

East Africa ranks among the top five regions for criminality in the world, as a hotbed of illicit activities and a stronghold for criminal actors, whose influence is aggravated by prolonged conflicts that make the region more vulnerable to the threat of organized crime.