(FILES) Protestors torch a motor bike belonging to suspected hired goons they claimed were paid to inflitrate anti-government demonstrators and cause vandalism among other crimes in a bid too discredit the ongoing protests to demand accountability from President Willam Ruto's government in Nairobi on July 23, 2024. Kenyan politicians are buying armed thugs for as little as $4 per day, as poverty and brutal political competition threaten to unleash uncontrollable violence ahead of elections next year. So-called "goons" are increasingly being hired, dozens or even hundreds at a time, to break up the rallies of political opponents and protesters, and attack civil rights groups -- with police often turning a blind eye. A recent study by Nairobi-based research firm Odipo Dev revealed a goons rate card, ranging from 500 shillings ($4) to work for a local councillor, up to 1,000 shillings for members of parliament. (Photo by Tony KARUMBA / AFP via Getty Images)