Kikuyu, Kalenjin and Luo dominate half of all parastatal jobs
National
By
Pkemoi Ng’enoh and Mike Kihaki
| Nov 14, 2025
Three communities have the lion’s share of employment in the country’s parastatals, the latest report by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has revealed.
The report launched yesterday says Kikuyu, Kalenjin and Luo have 29,352, 25,729 and 20,656 of their kinsmen respectively in the employment of the State bodies, topping the list of communities with the highest numbers of employees.
Overall, the report says while there are 299 parastatals which have employed about 146,000 Kenyans, the three communities, with a total of 75,737 have more than half of the employment slots, leaving the other 39 to share the rest.
The report says the organisations are male dominated with 62 per cent against 38 per cent women.
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It also notes that differently-abled people have never been considered in some organisations, with only 2,723 of them employed, representing a paltry 1.9 per cent.
In a separate report, it also emerged that there are close to 29 organised criminal gangs operating in Kenya.
Of concern, the survey says there is a rise of online gangs with platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and TikTok becoming fertile grounds for gangs.
“This digital transformation has facilitated the emergence of online gangs, leveraging the anonymity and reach of internet to perpetrate crimes, spread disinformation and incite violence,” the report says
The NCIC report finds that lately there has been a rise in cases of human trafficking as a form of organised crime in Kenya.
This according to the findings started on a small-scale involving individuals or loosely organised groups exploiting vulnerable individuals for forced labour or sexual explanation.
However, over time, trafficking networks have become more sophisticated and transnational with well-defined hierarchies, specialised roles, and established routes spanning across borders.
“The evolution of trafficking in Kenya is intertwined with the broader development of organised criminal gangs,” the report says in part
Criminal networks
In part of its recommendation the commission said while individuals should have the right to organise, communicate and express themselves, this should not extend beyond the requirement to safeguard a country’s security.
“In order to influence policy on organised crimes, there is a need to attain first-hand knowledge of the past, present and projection of the future activities of organised crime networks within the country,” the report recommends, adding that, “a multi-agency platform dedicated to monitoring the growth of organised criminal gangs should be formed.”
NCIC chairperson Samuel Kobia said that in the run up to the 2022 elections, the commission mapped the whole country and came up with three counties where there were three organised criminal gangs.
“We have followed closely how organised criminality happens and it is quite clear that some gangs are now very strong now and some of them have joined international criminal networks,” Kobia said during the launch of the reports.
He said the fundings will help various institutions and ministries like that of Interior and Coordination to enhance security and others to address challenges facing their dockets.
And in yet another report, the NCIC survey examined the diversity in public universities and painted a picture of ethnic exclusion and favouritism, among other issues.
The audit reveals that senior administrative and teaching positions in public universities are often filled through politically, regionally influenced appointments.