Urban Crime in East Africa Region: A Case Study of Carjacking in Lang'ata Area in Kenya

Urban crime perpetrated by organized gangs locally, across the borders and internationally has been a major security challenge to many city residents globally, and poses a serious threat to state security especially in the developing countries. In Kenya, re-introduction of multi-party politics in the early 1990s, coupled with other global factors and the 1992 multi-party elections provided a conducive environment for creation and thriving of gangs. Politicians in the new political outfit recruited vigilantes comprising mainly of young men along ethnic lines for easy political mobilization, but which they had no full control of and eventually they ended up as criminals. Since 1992 elections, crime soared high in most parts of the country; with carjacking in Nairobi becoming inconceivably highly with Lang'ata area and its environs taking the brunt of it. This study set out to research why the area has had an exponential increase in carjacking with effo1is to understand the trend thereof, the structures that support it, who are involved, spots carjacking was likely to take place and the organization of the gangs. To accomplish this, the study utilized secondary data available and complemented that with an extensive field research carried out at various spots and joints in Lang'ata area and Naivasha Maximum Security Prison. Various research methods were utilized: questionnaires, interviews and observations in order to achieve the set objectives and acquire an accurate and reliable data for use in the future.