After touring all the 47 counties in the country to collect views from security stakeholders, Jukwaa La Usalama, an initiative by the Ministry of Interior concluded in October.
Two months after the tours, Interior Cabinet Kipchumba Murkomen has handed over the report detailing the views collected across the country, challenges dogging the sector and long-term solutions that ought to be implemented.
The report says Sexual and Gender Based Violence has emerged as one of the most alarming cross-county security threats in the country.
It lists the most pressing concerns raised by communities across the 47 counties.
These include banditry, intercommunal land conflicts, illicit alcohol and drug abuse, organised criminal gangs, terrorism, boundary disputes, human-wildlife conflicts, and cattle rustling.
According to the findings, under-reporting remains widespread due to stigma, fear of reprisal, cultural interference, and reliance on non-judicial dispute mechanisms.
Between June and August 2025 alone, Bungoma recorded 48 SGBV cases, illustrating how pervasive the problem has become.
In Kisii, residents raised alarm about increasing cases of child sexual abuse, often hidden by families who prefer amicable settlements.
Chiefs reported that many families opt for informal compensation instead of pursuing justice, undermining deterrence and emboldening repeat offenders.
On the Coast, defilement and early pregnancies among school-age girls are rising sharply in Kilifi, Kwale and Taita Taveta.
Chiefs from Mwatate and Taveta noted that lack of safe houses and weak monitoring structures expose girls to repeat violations.
The report also states exploitative practices such as “fish-for-sex” in Nyanza specifically in Mageta, Rigiti and Sori where women and teenage girls are coerced into transactional sex to access fish in local beaches.
In pastoralist communities such as Kajiado, early and forced marriages remain widespread.
Chiefs attributed this to deep-seated cultural norms and poverty, calling for targeted engagement with elders to protect vulnerable girls.
In the Rift Valley, illicit brews and unregulated entertainment venues is said to be hotspots for sexual exploitation and were cited as contributing to rising SGBV cases.
The report also warned of organised criminal gangs in Western Kenya, drug trafficking networks on the Coast, and illicit brews in Central Kenya all of which have direct links to insecurity and community vulnerability.
Nairobi and parts of the Coast continue to record intense land conflicts, with community members accusing cartels of exploiting legal gaps and political interference.
Meanwhile, counties in Eastern Kenya raised concerns about boundary disputes, human-wildlife conflict, and recurring cattle rustling, particularly in Isiolo, Meru, Embu and Tharaka Nithi.
Addressing chiefs and assistant chiefs gathered for the launch from across the country, the President said the government would immediately begin implementing the recommendations contained in the report.
He directed the overhaul of the Anti-Narcotics Unit in response to rising drug abuse.
The President announced that the unit’s staffing will be expanded from 160 to 500 officers, with 34 new offices set to be opened across the country.
To boost police presence and accessibility, the government will construct 900 police stations in the next two years.
