| Country: | Kenya |
| Details of Formation: | The group was established as PGM in 2003 by the Provincial Administration of the Kisii district in order to combat rising insecurity. In 2005, the militia is said to be recruiting members in both Bonchari and Bobasi constituencies. |
| Details of Termination: | The group was banned by Provincial Commissioner Paul Olando in 2007. They continue to exist as an illicit vigilante group. |
| Purpose: | The group is deployed to violently combat crime in the district of Kisii. Influential businessmen and politicians are said to use the vigilantes to silence their rivals. Authorities claim that Kisungusungu has helped to improve the security situation in the area. Other sources claim that it has become a security menace itself. |
| Organisation: | no information |
| Weapons and Training: | no information |
| Size: | In 2004, the group is estimated to comprise 2000 members. |
| Reason for Membership: | Group members are conscripted. Those who refuse to join are beaten and fined. While many members do not have a stable source of income, they have turned to extortion and robbery. |
| Treatment of Civilians: | The group has burnt down houses of villagers, committed sexual violence against women and kept children from going to school merely for belonging to families of suspected cattle rustlers or petty criminals. No arrests have been made. |
| Other Information: | The group is also called Sungusungu. The idea of Sungusungu originates from Kuria district, where a community-based, locally managed force was formed in 1998 that operated independently from the state and the police. In 2003 the Provincial Administration of Kisii district adopted the Sungusungu system for their own community. |
| References: | Mkutu, Kennedy A. 2010. “Mitigation of armed criminality through an African indigenous approach.” Crime Law Soc Change 53: 183–204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-009-9217-x. |