Embedded state actors, mafia-style groups, and transnational criminal networks continue to fuel the rise of organised crime across South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya, according to a new report that paints a sobering picture of security vulnerabilities in three of Africa’s largest economies.
According to The East African, the fourth edition of the Africa Organised Crime Index 2025 says the most prevalent criminal actors have been state-embedded actors, who enable criminal markets, undermine governance structures and weaken state capacity to respond to organised crimeThe report launched in Nairobi on Monday by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC) and Interpol flags Kenya as one of the top four countries experiencing a surge in organised crime.
In Kenya, the index highlighted the use of militias and gangs such as Mungiki, who have gained political influence by collaborating with state-embedded actors during election periods.“Today, democratic elections in Kenya and Nigeria are marred by voter intimidation and violence from criminal gangs, while local municipal elections in South Africa are undermined by assassinations of politicians, highlighting the links between the state, criminal actors and organised crime,” the report says.
It indicates that the East African region is doing poorly in combating organised crime, including financial crime, human trafficking, non-renewable resources crimes, trade in counterfeit goods and arms trafficking. Read: Sub-Saharan Africa is a hotbed of illicit trade, UN saysThe report cites illicit flows of heroin, cocaine and synthetic drugs, as well as human and flora and fauna smuggling. Top criminal marketsOn the highest-scoring criminal markets, the report places Central Africa at the top, with crime involving non-renewable resources scoring 6.27 out of 10 and human trafficking cases at 6.23, arms trafficking 6.05, financial crimes 5.95, and flora crimes at 5.86.
East Africa was ranked second and human trafficking topped at 7.94 points, arms trafficking at 7.89, human smuggling at 7.67, financial crimes 6.78, and non-renewable resources crimes 6.28. North Africa was ranked third, with financial crimes leading, followed by human smuggling, cannabis trade, trade in synthetic drugs, and trade in counterfeit goods. Among the key findings in the report is that the state-embedded actors continue to exert significant influence in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.“Criminality is primarily driven by the power and adaptability of criminal actors operating on the continent, where criminal actors consistently score higher than the pervasiveness of criminal markets,” the report says.
East Africa can’t just have links to criminal cartelsJohn Githongo, a Kenyan veteran investigative journalist, says it is disappointing and troubling that state actors are fuelling organised crime.“Politicians, people who are around politicians, bureaucrats and people who are around bureaucrats are the main drivers of the worst form of organised crime,” Mr Githongo said during a sidelines interview at the launch of the report.
Rumbi Matamba, a Zimbabwean analyst at GI-TOC, noted the rise in cases of drug trafficking and smuggling crimes in Kenya and Tanzania, aided by poor maritime border management between the the two nations.“There is high heroin trafficking within the East Africa, coming in from places such as Afghanistan,” Ms Matamba said, adding that cocaine use in East Africa was high due to its supply via the Indian Ocean and airports.
Cannabis tradeThe analysts said that an adulterated version of heroin is trafficked from East Africa to other regions, such as Southern and Central Africa. The report observed that cannabis trade was recorded as the most entrenched drug market in Africa. North Africa was named as the leading market for cannabis and synthetic drugs, while South Africa is the market for heroin and West Africa for cocaine.
Read: Nigeria drug agency seizes $278m worth of cocaine in Lagos raidBetween 2019 and 2025, cocaine trade was the fastest-growing market overall, but the synthetic drug has grown fastest since 2023, the report says. The influence of foreign and private sectors actors has increased the most since 2023, with West Africa having the highest influence from foreigners, leading to a surge in cocaine trade and other criminal markets.
