Nairobi MCAs demand over 700 kanjo recruits withdrawn from city streets for harassing traders

Nairobi Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) have raised concerns over the violent conduct of more than 700 ungraduated inspectorate recruits, also known as kanjos, who were deployed as interns last year.

The MCAs have warned that the recruits’ unchecked actions risk turning the county’s enforcement unit into a militia.

This follows numerous accusations that the recruits have been harassing traders and motorists while posing as law enforcers.

During a sitting of the County Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC), chaired by Mugumo-ini MCA Jared Akama, a hawker in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD), testified before the committee, recounting how she was recently assaulted by inspectorate officers she could not identify.

“I would urge them to be in uniform and not to cover their faces while on duty,” she said.

The MCAs questioned how the recruits were released to the streets before completing their training. They were informed that the recruits, some of whom operate in plain clothes, have been causing mayhem across Nairobi, assaulting residents, arresting traders and intimidating motorists without identifying themselves.

“We must understand how they are getting handcuffs, because if not stopped, tomorrow they will be having pistols. If they can get handcuffs, what’s to stop them from getting pistols? Or they can even start to enforce using pangas,” Akama said.

The committee also expressed concern over reports that some of the recruits are enforcing city bylaws while covering their faces, with no uniforms or official identification.

A recent video circulating online showed about eight non-uniformed officials accosting and roughing up a member of the public on a Nairobi street, prompting public outrage and reinforcing the committee’s concerns.

“We are cultivating a city militia… The buck stops with the person in charge. Number one, they are returned to the camp. Number two, no arrest without uniform,” Akama said.

He further warned that there is a growing trend of individuals masquerading as inspectorate officers and using the opportunity to harass city residents.

“Nowadays, there is a gang going to the market harassing people. We don’t know whether they are our officers,” he added.

The committee has now ordered the immediate return of all recruits to their training camp at Dagoretti South and called on county leadership to restore order and discipline within the inspectorate department.

Additionally, JLAC resolved to summon County Executive Committee Member for Finance Charles Kerich and Chief Officer for Finance Asha Abdi to explain the continued lack of uniforms for inspectorate officers.

The issue had been previously raised last year when Acting Chief Officer of the Inspectorate Eva Wangechi Wairiuko appeared before the same committee.

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At the time, Wairiuko told the Assembly that the county was facing a financial crisis and had diverted funds initially allocated for the purchase of uniforms and facilitation of the recruits’ graduation to another sector.

The committee’s revelations contradict assurances previously made by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, who last year met with inspectorate officers and traders, warning that all enforcement personnel must wear uniforms while on duty. The governor also promised to introduce body cameras for officers to reduce friction between them and the public.

However, committee members noted that inspectorate officers continue to operate without uniforms, without name tags, and with no progress on the promised body camera initiative.

The Assembly committee has reiterated its demand for accountability and decisive action to rein in the rogue recruits and restore public trust in the city’s inspectorate services.