They have the instinct of predators, preying over their victims with no remorse. Sanctity of life is not in their vocabulary, making their thirst for blood only comparable to that of so called vampires. That is the dreaded Mungiki sect, now sprouting in Kenya and assuming the characteristics of a blood-curdling monster. Authorities seem to be having difficulty in eradicating them. The formation of Mungiki sect remains a mystery to many Kenyans. There have been contradicting statements.
Some reports say the group possibly started in 1988 with the aim of toppling the government of immediate former president of Kenya, Daniel Torotich arap Moi.
Those who share this thinking believe the group was an offshoot of Mwakenya, an underground movement formed in 1979 to challenge the Kenya African National Union (KANU) regime.
Other reports indicate that Mungiki was founded in 1987 by some young schoolboys.
The activities of the sect, however, came into the limelight in late 1990s, when reports started flowing in of groups of suspicious looking youths, many donning dreadlocks, being seen taking unusual oaths, and engaging in strange prayers.
Confronted by authorities, their swift defence would be that theirs was a group of traditionalists interested only in re-introducing and promoting traditional way of life among the Kikuyu ethnic group. They posed as a traditional religious group, but an unusual one because taking snuff during worship was their trademark.
But their hardline stand against Western idiologies put them on a collision course with the police. They started stripping naked in public, ladies wearing miniskirts and long trousers, and violently promoted female cut [Female circumcision - AI] .
They would engage police in fierce running battles, and on a number of occasions, violently raided police stations to ‘free arrested members’.
Their violent activities intensified. They systematically and forcefully began taking over management of commuter service vehicles, popularly known as Matatu.
In March last year, they clashed with a vigilante group in Nairobi, and later unleashed terror on residents of a slum area, killing 23 people and injuring several others. This prompted the government to outlaw their grouping. They however, continued to exist, and even more openly propagated their warlike activities
The formation of Mungiki sect remains a mystery to many Kenyans. There have been contradicting statements.
Some reports say the group possibly started in 1988 with the aim of toppling the government of immediate former president of Kenya, Daniel Torotich arap Moi.
Those who share this thinking believe the group was an offshoot of Mwakenya, an underground movement formed in 1979 to challenge the Kenya African National Union (KANU) regime.
Other reports indicate that Mungiki was founded in 1987 by some young schoolboys.
The activities of the sect, however, came into the limelight in late 1990s, when reports started flowing in of groups of suspicious looking youths, many donning dreadlocks, being seen taking unusual oaths, and engaging in strange prayers.
Confronted by authorities, their swift defence would be that theirs was a group of traditionalists interested only in re-introducing and promoting traditional way of life among the Kikuyu ethnic group. They posed as a traditional religious group, but an unusual one because taking snuff during worship was their trademark.
But their hardline stand against Western idiologies put them on a collision course with the police. They started stripping naked in public, ladies wearing miniskirts and long trousers, and violently promoted female cut.
They would engage police in fierce running battles, and on a number of occasions, violently raided police stations to ‘free arrested members’.
Their violent activities intensified. They systematically and forcefully began taking over management of commuter service vehicles, popularly known as Matatu.
In March last year, they clashed with a vigilante group in Nairobi, and later unleashed terror on residents of a slum area, killing 23 people and injuring several others. This prompted the government to outlaw their grouping. They however, continued to exist, and even more openly propagated their warlike activities.
Personalities associated with Mungiki are Maina Njenga as the sect leader, and Ndura Waruinge as its national co-ordinator. The hierarchy of the group includes provincial and district co-ordinators.
According to a source close to the sect, Maina, the leader, had a vision from God, commanding him to bring together all the people oppressed by Western ideologies. He chose the name Mungiki, which in Kikuyu language means ‘many people’.
Big names in political circles are said to have joined in to offer financial support. The sect quickly grew in membership to an estimated 1.5 to 2 million members today. Its membership is drawn possibly entirely from the Kikuyu community.
The source, who asked for anonymity, says Mungiki mission at its inception, was to propagate African culture and to frustrate Christianity, which to them, was a cultural manifestation of Western civilisation that perpetuated neo-colonialism.
It is no wonder that the sect at one time sought to have close ties with the Islamic faith to intensify fight against Christianity. This was ostensibly to win support of Muslims in their acts of destruction and orgies. Unfortunately the Muslims, through their superiors, disowned them.
If one was to follow the chronology of mayhem and trail of blood left by Mungiki, it would be hard not to link them with drugs, the same thing they claim to preach against.
The March incident in Nairobi was just one of the many innocent killings Mungiki has engaged in. Last month, 16 other lives were lost in Nakuru town, in Rift Valley Province in yet another Mungiki attack.
Within the same month, several other people were killed by the same group in Laikipia and Muranga districts in Rift Valley and Central provinces respectively.
These happened just as the current government (NARC) gave ultimatums to the sect members to surrender, or otherwise face the wrath of government machinery. Mungiki vowed not to give in, but to counter any attacks on them by the authorities.
Their adamant stance, observers say, could be a manifestation of the leniency with which the past government (KANU) handled their cruel behaviour.
This became evident last year in the run-up to the general elections, when members of the sect thronged the streets of Nairobi to express solidarity with Uhuru Kenyatta, former president Moi’s choice of successor.
The police stood by as the club, machete, and sword-wielding Mungiki members took charge of the city centre. People were baffled at how such a volatile and outlawed group could easily chant around the streets carrying crude weapons without police interference.
But there was an answer. The Mungiki were simply responding to a challenge by two former Members of Parliament and ardent KANU supporters, Mr. Kihika Kimani and Steven Ndichu, that they ‘parade up and defend KANU’. Silence from the then government gave the impression that it tacitly supported the idea.
Close observers thought Uhuru Kenyatta, then a presidential candidate, would come out and denounce the cult. This did not come immediately. A mockery of the highest degree, observers said, when he finally disassociated himself from the sect.
Mugambi Kiai, a lawyer by profession, deduces that KANU regime must have tried to use the carrot-and-stick trap to deal with Mungiki. A pseudo-Mungiki was created to infiltrate and neutralise the real Mungiki. This, however, did not seem to work.
It was a relief to many Kenyans when violence-free elections were finally conducted on December 27 last year. It had been feared that Mungiki, would strike to intimidate voters.
But as Kenyans craned their heads high in a show of pride for having set a good example to the rest of the continent, Mungiki suddenly struck with the Nakuru killings. The celebration dust had hardly settled.
Mungiki’s contention was that they had been barred from controlling a Matatu terminus in Nakuru Town, about 200 kilomtres from Nairobi.
The Matatu industry has been a target, says a Mungiki member who asked for anonymity, because it is vulnerable and run by young people who the sect is trying to convert. According to the source, they are succeeding in this.
But for whatever reason the sect was formed, the heinous act of killing with impunity has brought the members into a tricky warpath with the government and the public at large. Observers say their acts can potentially scare away foreign investors as they depict insecurity.
Outlawed
The Muniki movement was outlawed in March, 2002:
Attorney-General Amos Wako yesterday ordered police to arrest and prosecute the people who took part in Tuesday’s demonstration organised by the proscribed Mungiki sect.
Wako said Mungiki is among the 18 outlawed organisations and accused the police of negligence in carrying out their duties.
“For the police and law enforcement to stand by and witness offences being committed is a dereliction of their duties,” Wako said.
He said the Mungiki movement together with 17 others were outlawed on March 15 this year through Legal Notice Number 42 in the Kenya Gazette.
Wako said the Legal Notice means that Mungiki together with 17 others are dangerous to the good government of the Republic of Kenya.
A special issue of the Kenya Gazette supplement number 20 of March 15, 2002, by the Minister of State in the Office of the President in-charge of internal security, Mr Julius Sunkuli, outlawed 18 vigilante groups under section 4(1) (ii) of the Societies Act.
The groups were named as Mungiki, Jeshi la Mzee, Jeshi la Embakasi, Jeshi la King’ole, Baghdad boys, Chinkororo, Amachuma, Banyamulenge, Talibans, Dallas Muslim youth, Runyenjes Football club, Kaya Bombo youth, Sakina youth, Charo Shutu, Kuzacha, Kamjeshi, Jeshi la Nazir and Kosovo boys.
Yesterday, Wako said: “In law the said societies became unlawful, consequently, criminal offences are committed by any person who manages or assists the management of the said unlawful societies,” said Wako.
“Any person who is a member, or attends or allows a meeting of the said unlawful societies, incites or assists such proscribed societies to engage in any activity is committing an offence,” he added.
A-G Orders Arrest of Mungiki Followers
Attorney-General Amos Wako yesterday ordered police to arrest and prosecute the people who took part in Tuesday’s demonstration organised by the proscribed Mungiki sect.
Wako said Mungiki is among the 18 outlawed organisations and accused the police of negligence in carrying out their duties.
“For the police and law enforcement to stand by and witness offences being committed is a dereliction of their duties,” Wako said.
He said the Mungiki movement together with 17 others were outlawed on March 15 this year through Legal Notice Number 42 in the Kenya Gazette.
Wako said the Legal Notice means that Mungiki together with 17 others are dangerous to the good government of the Republic of Kenya.
A special issue of the Kenya Gazette supplement number 20 of March 15, 2002, by the Minister of State in the Office of the President in-charge of internal security, Mr Julius Sunkuli, outlawed 18 vigilante groups under section 4(1) (ii) of the Societies Act.
The groups were named as Mungiki, Jeshi la Mzee, Jeshi la Embakasi, Jeshi la King’ole, Baghdad boys, Chinkororo, Amachuma, Banyamulenge, Talibans, Dallas Muslim youth, Runyenjes Football club, Kaya Bombo youth, Sakina youth, Charo Shutu, Kuzacha, Kamjeshi, Jeshi la Nazir and Kosovo boys.
Yesterday, Wako said: “In law the said societies became unlawful, consequently, criminal offences are committed by any person who manages or assists the management of the said unlawful societies,” said Wako.
“Any person who is a member, or attends or allows a meeting of the said unlawful societies, incites or assists such proscribed societies to engage in any activity is committing an offence,” he added.
In a hard-hitting statement, Wako said it is duty of the police and other law enforcement to prevent and detect crime.
He said the police are supposed to apprehend the offenders where crime has been committed and enforce the law.
“I therefore call upon the police and other law enforcement officers to ensure that they take timely and effective action when any of the unlawful societies engage in activities of any kind”.
Wako said Kenyans have a constitutional right to support a candidate of their choice and to hold peaceful demostrations. He, however, pointed out that it is a criminal offence to abet a proscribed organisation.
“To exercise these rights as members of an unlawful societies is to commit offences for which they will be apprehended, tried, convicted and punished in accordance with the law,” he added.
In a separate interview, Spokesman Peter Kimanthi said the police will investigate the circumstances under which the demonstration took place and those found guilty will be arrested and prosecuted. He said that Mayor Dick Waweru applied for a notification from the police to hold a demonstration which he was issued with, adding that if other groups hijacked it, the police are yet to investigate.
Kimanthi said that there are laws to be followed when people want to hold such activities, in which case the Mayor met and was allowed to hold a demonstration within the city.
He said the mayor will be charged because him together with Mungiki leaders Ndura Waruinge and Maina Njenga and others committed an offence contrary to law. However, the Nairobi Provincial Police Officer (PPO) Stephen Kimenchu said the police could not act because they were out-numbered by the demonstrators.
Elsewhere, legislators William ole Ntimama and Shem Ochuodho condemned the demonstration by Mungiki people, saying they made very dangerous threats, reports Ochieng’ Ogodo.
Ntimama said it was a move in the wrong direction as inciting tribal animosity may lead to a volatile situation that those who are masterminding may not be able to control.
He said Molo MP Kihika Kimani and Juja MP Stephen Ndichu were setting Kenyans against one another and should be stopped as this may result in serious lawlessness.
“Setting Mungiki sect members against other Kenyans will affect the whole country. It will boomerang to all corners of the country and every body will be affected,” Ntimama said.
Ochuodho said the incident could be a prelude to the tribal clashes like those that claimed the lives of hundreds, left scores maimed and displaced thousands before the general elections of 1992 and 1997.
He said Ndichu and Kihika should be interrogated thoroughly to unravel the mystery behind Mungiki so that the thuggery its members have been committing is not repeated.
[...]
However, two Members of Parliament from Thika District yesterday came out in support of the Mungiki march in support of Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, adds Eliud Miring’uh.
Gatanga MP David Murathe and Ndichu said the sect members demonstrated a high degree of discipline because they did not destroy property, or harass pedestrians and motorists.
But Kasarani MP Adolf Muchiri and his Embakasi counterpart, Mr David Mwenje, said the demo was in bad taste because the Government has already banned the sect, along with 17 others.
Mungiki resurgence must be stopped
The notorious Mungiki sect is back with all the insecurity this represents.
Its main target as has been the case since the gang reared its ugly head is the matatu business from which it demands money. Matatu crews and owners are expected to pay some kind of protection money daily, failing which the consequences are brutal.
Matatu owners, drivers and conductors have been killed and maimed for refusing to obey. In Nairobi, the public transport has resorted to withdrawal of services to express their disgust, anger and woes.
But it is not just in Nairobi where the Mungiki menace is a security threat. In Kahuro Location in Murang’a District, the sect gangsters reign supreme and it is said to be their main hide-out. The situation is so grave that Central PC Mr Kiplimo Rugut has ordered a 24-hour police surveillance of the location.
The resurgence of the Mungiki is worrying because it seems to follow a national trend of rising insecurity. What has been happening in Molo and Kuresoi in Nakuru District, Samburu and Baringo among other areas, should be seen in this light.
The Mungiki gained notoriety in the late 1990s in what appeared to be a cultural movement of sorts. It advocated bizarre rituals, including female circumcision. It was frowned upon and ignored until it spiralled into a security threat.
But it later gained acceptance in some political circles and by the 2002 General Election, various politicians and political parties were linked to it.
When Narc came to power, it made headway in fighting it and pushed it out of city and town centres. The cartels that had formed around the matatu business were largely broken.
But it seems that was temporary, a lull before the storm, as recent events have shown.
The sect seems to have taken cover from the authorities and withdrawn to the city and town estates and the countryside. From these hideouts, it intermittently comes out to engage in illegality and make a point.
A few months ago, attempts to break the sect’s hold on the matatu business resulted in the shooting and injury of a senior police officer in the city.
This daredevil buffoonery should worry the security agents and they must once and for all come hard on the Mungiki and its network. As the country enters an election year, the gang will only get bolder.
And why not? Politicians and political parties will be ready to hire their services to intimidate or even eliminate their opponents. The Provincial Administration and the public should form a major plank in the war against Mungiki, cattle rustlers and those who torch houses.
These people must be arrested and made to face the force of the law for only then can wananchi be secure enough to go about their daily chores.
This is the time to test the community policing programme that was launched with a lot of fanfare as a complementary source of security. It will emerge whether security agents and the public have learnt to trust one another and use the information received well and responsibly. The war against crime — its success and failure — will also measure how the recent Office of the President Rapid Results Initiative is fairing.
Some reports say the group possibly started in 1988 with the aim of toppling the government of immediate former president of Kenya, Daniel Torotich arap Moi.
Those who share this thinking believe the group was an offshoot of Mwakenya, an underground movement formed in 1979 to challenge the Kenya African National Union (KANU) regime.
Other reports indicate that Mungiki was founded in 1987 by some young schoolboys.
The activities of the sect, however, came into the limelight in late 1990s, when reports started flowing in of groups of suspicious looking youths, many donning dreadlocks, being seen taking unusual oaths, and engaging in strange prayers.
Confronted by authorities, their swift defence would be that theirs was a group of traditionalists interested only in re-introducing and promoting traditional way of life among the Kikuyu ethnic group. They posed as a traditional religious group, but an unusual one because taking snuff during worship was their trademark.
But their hardline stand against Western idiologies put them on a collision course with the police. They started stripping naked in public, ladies wearing miniskirts and long trousers, and violently promoted female cut [Female circumcision - AI] .
They would engage police in fierce running battles, and on a number of occasions, violently raided police stations to ‘free arrested members’.
Their violent activities intensified. They systematically and forcefully began taking over management of commuter service vehicles, popularly known as Matatu.
In March last year, they clashed with a vigilante group in Nairobi, and later unleashed terror on residents of a slum area, killing 23 people and injuring several others. This prompted the government to outlaw their grouping. They however, continued to exist, and even more openly propagated their warlike activities
The formation of Mungiki sect remains a mystery to many Kenyans. There have been contradicting statements.
Some reports say the group possibly started in 1988 with the aim of toppling the government of immediate former president of Kenya, Daniel Torotich arap Moi.
Those who share this thinking believe the group was an offshoot of Mwakenya, an underground movement formed in 1979 to challenge the Kenya African National Union (KANU) regime.
Other reports indicate that Mungiki was founded in 1987 by some young schoolboys.
The activities of the sect, however, came into the limelight in late 1990s, when reports started flowing in of groups of suspicious looking youths, many donning dreadlocks, being seen taking unusual oaths, and engaging in strange prayers.
Confronted by authorities, their swift defence would be that theirs was a group of traditionalists interested only in re-introducing and promoting traditional way of life among the Kikuyu ethnic group. They posed as a traditional religious group, but an unusual one because taking snuff during worship was their trademark.
But their hardline stand against Western idiologies put them on a collision course with the police. They started stripping naked in public, ladies wearing miniskirts and long trousers, and violently promoted female cut.
They would engage police in fierce running battles, and on a number of occasions, violently raided police stations to ‘free arrested members’.
Their violent activities intensified. They systematically and forcefully began taking over management of commuter service vehicles, popularly known as Matatu.
In March last year, they clashed with a vigilante group in Nairobi, and later unleashed terror on residents of a slum area, killing 23 people and injuring several others. This prompted the government to outlaw their grouping. They however, continued to exist, and even more openly propagated their warlike activities.
Personalities associated with Mungiki are Maina Njenga as the sect leader, and Ndura Waruinge as its national co-ordinator. The hierarchy of the group includes provincial and district co-ordinators.
According to a source close to the sect, Maina, the leader, had a vision from God, commanding him to bring together all the people oppressed by Western ideologies. He chose the name Mungiki, which in Kikuyu language means ‘many people’.
Big names in political circles are said to have joined in to offer financial support. The sect quickly grew in membership to an estimated 1.5 to 2 million members today. Its membership is drawn possibly entirely from the Kikuyu community.
The source, who asked for anonymity, says Mungiki mission at its inception, was to propagate African culture and to frustrate Christianity, which to them, was a cultural manifestation of Western civilisation that perpetuated neo-colonialism.
It is no wonder that the sect at one time sought to have close ties with the Islamic faith to intensify fight against Christianity. This was ostensibly to win support of Muslims in their acts of destruction and orgies. Unfortunately the Muslims, through their superiors, disowned them.
If one was to follow the chronology of mayhem and trail of blood left by Mungiki, it would be hard not to link them with drugs, the same thing they claim to preach against.
The March incident in Nairobi was just one of the many innocent killings Mungiki has engaged in. Last month, 16 other lives were lost in Nakuru town, in Rift Valley Province in yet another Mungiki attack.
Within the same month, several other people were killed by the same group in Laikipia and Muranga districts in Rift Valley and Central provinces respectively.
These happened just as the current government (NARC) gave ultimatums to the sect members to surrender, or otherwise face the wrath of government machinery. Mungiki vowed not to give in, but to counter any attacks on them by the authorities.
Their adamant stance, observers say, could be a manifestation of the leniency with which the past government (KANU) handled their cruel behaviour.
This became evident last year in the run-up to the general elections, when members of the sect thronged the streets of Nairobi to express solidarity with Uhuru Kenyatta, former president Moi’s choice of successor.
The police stood by as the club, machete, and sword-wielding Mungiki members took charge of the city centre. People were baffled at how such a volatile and outlawed group could easily chant around the streets carrying crude weapons without police interference.
But there was an answer. The Mungiki were simply responding to a challenge by two former Members of Parliament and ardent KANU supporters, Mr. Kihika Kimani and Steven Ndichu, that they ‘parade up and defend KANU’. Silence from the then government gave the impression that it tacitly supported the idea.
Close observers thought Uhuru Kenyatta, then a presidential candidate, would come out and denounce the cult. This did not come immediately. A mockery of the highest degree, observers said, when he finally disassociated himself from the sect.
Mugambi Kiai, a lawyer by profession, deduces that KANU regime must have tried to use the carrot-and-stick trap to deal with Mungiki. A pseudo-Mungiki was created to infiltrate and neutralise the real Mungiki. This, however, did not seem to work.
It was a relief to many Kenyans when violence-free elections were finally conducted on December 27 last year. It had been feared that Mungiki, would strike to intimidate voters.
But as Kenyans craned their heads high in a show of pride for having set a good example to the rest of the continent, Mungiki suddenly struck with the Nakuru killings. The celebration dust had hardly settled.
Mungiki’s contention was that they had been barred from controlling a Matatu terminus in Nakuru Town, about 200 kilomtres from Nairobi.
The Matatu industry has been a target, says a Mungiki member who asked for anonymity, because it is vulnerable and run by young people who the sect is trying to convert. According to the source, they are succeeding in this.
But for whatever reason the sect was formed, the heinous act of killing with impunity has brought the members into a tricky warpath with the government and the public at large. Observers say their acts can potentially scare away foreign investors as they depict insecurity.
Outlawed
The Muniki movement was outlawed in March, 2002:
Attorney-General Amos Wako yesterday ordered police to arrest and prosecute the people who took part in Tuesday’s demonstration organised by the proscribed Mungiki sect.
Wako said Mungiki is among the 18 outlawed organisations and accused the police of negligence in carrying out their duties.
“For the police and law enforcement to stand by and witness offences being committed is a dereliction of their duties,” Wako said.
He said the Mungiki movement together with 17 others were outlawed on March 15 this year through Legal Notice Number 42 in the Kenya Gazette.
Wako said the Legal Notice means that Mungiki together with 17 others are dangerous to the good government of the Republic of Kenya.
A special issue of the Kenya Gazette supplement number 20 of March 15, 2002, by the Minister of State in the Office of the President in-charge of internal security, Mr Julius Sunkuli, outlawed 18 vigilante groups under section 4(1) (ii) of the Societies Act.
The groups were named as Mungiki, Jeshi la Mzee, Jeshi la Embakasi, Jeshi la King’ole, Baghdad boys, Chinkororo, Amachuma, Banyamulenge, Talibans, Dallas Muslim youth, Runyenjes Football club, Kaya Bombo youth, Sakina youth, Charo Shutu, Kuzacha, Kamjeshi, Jeshi la Nazir and Kosovo boys.
Yesterday, Wako said: “In law the said societies became unlawful, consequently, criminal offences are committed by any person who manages or assists the management of the said unlawful societies,” said Wako.
“Any person who is a member, or attends or allows a meeting of the said unlawful societies, incites or assists such proscribed societies to engage in any activity is committing an offence,” he added.
A-G Orders Arrest of Mungiki Followers
Attorney-General Amos Wako yesterday ordered police to arrest and prosecute the people who took part in Tuesday’s demonstration organised by the proscribed Mungiki sect.
Wako said Mungiki is among the 18 outlawed organisations and accused the police of negligence in carrying out their duties.
“For the police and law enforcement to stand by and witness offences being committed is a dereliction of their duties,” Wako said.
He said the Mungiki movement together with 17 others were outlawed on March 15 this year through Legal Notice Number 42 in the Kenya Gazette.
Wako said the Legal Notice means that Mungiki together with 17 others are dangerous to the good government of the Republic of Kenya.
A special issue of the Kenya Gazette supplement number 20 of March 15, 2002, by the Minister of State in the Office of the President in-charge of internal security, Mr Julius Sunkuli, outlawed 18 vigilante groups under section 4(1) (ii) of the Societies Act.
The groups were named as Mungiki, Jeshi la Mzee, Jeshi la Embakasi, Jeshi la King’ole, Baghdad boys, Chinkororo, Amachuma, Banyamulenge, Talibans, Dallas Muslim youth, Runyenjes Football club, Kaya Bombo youth, Sakina youth, Charo Shutu, Kuzacha, Kamjeshi, Jeshi la Nazir and Kosovo boys.
Yesterday, Wako said: “In law the said societies became unlawful, consequently, criminal offences are committed by any person who manages or assists the management of the said unlawful societies,” said Wako.
“Any person who is a member, or attends or allows a meeting of the said unlawful societies, incites or assists such proscribed societies to engage in any activity is committing an offence,” he added.
In a hard-hitting statement, Wako said it is duty of the police and other law enforcement to prevent and detect crime.
He said the police are supposed to apprehend the offenders where crime has been committed and enforce the law.
“I therefore call upon the police and other law enforcement officers to ensure that they take timely and effective action when any of the unlawful societies engage in activities of any kind”.
Wako said Kenyans have a constitutional right to support a candidate of their choice and to hold peaceful demostrations. He, however, pointed out that it is a criminal offence to abet a proscribed organisation.
“To exercise these rights as members of an unlawful societies is to commit offences for which they will be apprehended, tried, convicted and punished in accordance with the law,” he added.
In a separate interview, Spokesman Peter Kimanthi said the police will investigate the circumstances under which the demonstration took place and those found guilty will be arrested and prosecuted. He said that Mayor Dick Waweru applied for a notification from the police to hold a demonstration which he was issued with, adding that if other groups hijacked it, the police are yet to investigate.
Kimanthi said that there are laws to be followed when people want to hold such activities, in which case the Mayor met and was allowed to hold a demonstration within the city.
He said the mayor will be charged because him together with Mungiki leaders Ndura Waruinge and Maina Njenga and others committed an offence contrary to law. However, the Nairobi Provincial Police Officer (PPO) Stephen Kimenchu said the police could not act because they were out-numbered by the demonstrators.
Elsewhere, legislators William ole Ntimama and Shem Ochuodho condemned the demonstration by Mungiki people, saying they made very dangerous threats, reports Ochieng’ Ogodo.
Ntimama said it was a move in the wrong direction as inciting tribal animosity may lead to a volatile situation that those who are masterminding may not be able to control.
He said Molo MP Kihika Kimani and Juja MP Stephen Ndichu were setting Kenyans against one another and should be stopped as this may result in serious lawlessness.
“Setting Mungiki sect members against other Kenyans will affect the whole country. It will boomerang to all corners of the country and every body will be affected,” Ntimama said.
Ochuodho said the incident could be a prelude to the tribal clashes like those that claimed the lives of hundreds, left scores maimed and displaced thousands before the general elections of 1992 and 1997.
He said Ndichu and Kihika should be interrogated thoroughly to unravel the mystery behind Mungiki so that the thuggery its members have been committing is not repeated.
[...]
However, two Members of Parliament from Thika District yesterday came out in support of the Mungiki march in support of Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, adds Eliud Miring’uh.
Gatanga MP David Murathe and Ndichu said the sect members demonstrated a high degree of discipline because they did not destroy property, or harass pedestrians and motorists.
But Kasarani MP Adolf Muchiri and his Embakasi counterpart, Mr David Mwenje, said the demo was in bad taste because the Government has already banned the sect, along with 17 others.
Mungiki resurgence must be stopped
The notorious Mungiki sect is back with all the insecurity this represents.
Its main target as has been the case since the gang reared its ugly head is the matatu business from which it demands money. Matatu crews and owners are expected to pay some kind of protection money daily, failing which the consequences are brutal.
Matatu owners, drivers and conductors have been killed and maimed for refusing to obey. In Nairobi, the public transport has resorted to withdrawal of services to express their disgust, anger and woes.
But it is not just in Nairobi where the Mungiki menace is a security threat. In Kahuro Location in Murang’a District, the sect gangsters reign supreme and it is said to be their main hide-out. The situation is so grave that Central PC Mr Kiplimo Rugut has ordered a 24-hour police surveillance of the location.
The resurgence of the Mungiki is worrying because it seems to follow a national trend of rising insecurity. What has been happening in Molo and Kuresoi in Nakuru District, Samburu and Baringo among other areas, should be seen in this light.
The Mungiki gained notoriety in the late 1990s in what appeared to be a cultural movement of sorts. It advocated bizarre rituals, including female circumcision. It was frowned upon and ignored until it spiralled into a security threat.
But it later gained acceptance in some political circles and by the 2002 General Election, various politicians and political parties were linked to it.
When Narc came to power, it made headway in fighting it and pushed it out of city and town centres. The cartels that had formed around the matatu business were largely broken.
But it seems that was temporary, a lull before the storm, as recent events have shown.
The sect seems to have taken cover from the authorities and withdrawn to the city and town estates and the countryside. From these hideouts, it intermittently comes out to engage in illegality and make a point.
A few months ago, attempts to break the sect’s hold on the matatu business resulted in the shooting and injury of a senior police officer in the city.
This daredevil buffoonery should worry the security agents and they must once and for all come hard on the Mungiki and its network. As the country enters an election year, the gang will only get bolder.
And why not? Politicians and political parties will be ready to hire their services to intimidate or even eliminate their opponents. The Provincial Administration and the public should form a major plank in the war against Mungiki, cattle rustlers and those who torch houses.
These people must be arrested and made to face the force of the law for only then can wananchi be secure enough to go about their daily chores.
This is the time to test the community policing programme that was launched with a lot of fanfare as a complementary source of security. It will emerge whether security agents and the public have learnt to trust one another and use the information received well and responsibly. The war against crime — its success and failure — will also measure how the recent Office of the President Rapid Results Initiative is fairing.
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