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I am glad you noticed how the rise of vigilante youth groups has gone hand in hand with the general negligence on the part of the state to provide security to some of the poorest areas in Nairobi. Where there is a police presence, they often attempt to control the extortion rackets for financial gain and many of the youth groups who began as 'community protection' become swiftly recruited into the payroll of some local councilor or MP running for office.

Still, one must be careful to bracket the post-election violence - especially in the urban areas of Nairobi - as simply politically instigated (As Ocampo is presently attempting to persuade his court). The nature of the violence in Mathare had a radically spontaneous edge that took hold when security forces barricaded Juja road in an attempt to isolate the pro-opposition areas of the capital while other gangs like Mungiki were infiltrating and attacking the slums under police protection.

Further still, following the referendum in 2005, the community basically self-armed itself (and this was not unique) and every person was told to sleep with a machete under their bed for fear of retaliation when they voted against the President. All these factors really point to a culture of neglect, impunity and violence that have accompanied the consolidation of multi-partyism in Kenya (not to be mistaken for democracy!) and a very serious crisis of governance that is crippling the country.