MUNGIKI DESERVE MOB JUSTICE

Kenyans cannot hope against hope for this government to do something about mungiki especially in the year of elections and yet we cannot sit back and mercylessly watch our family and friends suffer the wrath of "mungiki justice". Instead of entering into dialogue with them, (which has never solved even the simplest issue in kenya; for example the ODM leaders can't come to a consensus on who will be the party's touch bearer.), we should take to the streets and walk from door to door, forest to forest and flush out these bloodthirsty devils out of their sorry miseries and kill them in public limelight. It shall have achieved a double objective of reducing the number of killers out there on the prawl and also acted as a good deterrence for would-be mungiki followers. talk of killing two birds with one stone!

Coco Delights: Insecurity in Kenya

Coco Delights: Insecurity in Kenya

Tell Me More said...

Unless you are in Kenya you do not know how scary this is. No one is talking about for the fact that you can never trust anyone...and the rumor that they are killing everyone who is against them makes the condition even worse.

Some People who live in Eastlands are making it home when there is still light, last night being one of those soccer nights most clubs were empty for people chose to watch at home. Its sad, sad that we are a free nation and yet people can take over and just chop someone's head like an animal.

I believe the whole thing is politically motivated, its more than mungiki, maybe its a plan to instill people fear during election year such that they do not vote.

MUNGIKI'S PROFILE.

Profile: Kenya's secretive Mungiki sect

BBC News/February 11, 2003
By Gray Phombeah

They pray as they face Mount Kenya, which they believe to be the home of their God, known as Ngai.

And their name means "a united people."

But Kenya's Mungiki followers are no ordinary believers.

Their holy communion is tobacco-sniffing, their hairstyle that of the Mau Mau dreadlocks and the origin of the sect is still shrouded in mystery.

Since the late 1990s, the sect has left behind a trail of blood in its rejection of the trappings of Western culture.

Deaths

Last week, the sect was back in the news following two days of clashes with police which left at least two policemen dead in Nairobi and 70 of its members in police custody.

The clashes were sparked by a dispute over the control of the private minibuses business in some parts of Nairobi, two weeks after 30 people were killed in similar clashes in the Rift Valley province.

Police say more than 50 people died last year in clashes involving the sect and owners of private minibuses, known as Matatu, in Nairobi alone.

"Mungiki is a politically motivated wing of a religious organisation," says Ken Ouko, a lecturer of sociology at the University of Nairobi.

"The religious bit is just a camouflage. It's more like an army unit. During the old system, they seemed to be complimentary to the system. In the new government, they seem to be antagonistic."

Secrecy

Inspired by the bloody Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s against the British colonial rule, thousands of young Kenyans - mostly drawn from Kenya's largest tribe, the Kikuyu - flocked to the sect whose doctrines are based on traditional practices.

One theory has it that Mungiki was formed in 1988 with the aim of toppling the government of former President Daniel arap Moi. The sect was, at one time, associated with Mwakenya, an underground movement formed in 1979 to challenge the former Kanu regime.

Other reports say Mungiki was founded in 1987 by some young students in central Kenya to reclaim political power and wealth which its members claim was stolen from the Kikuyu.

Its leadership claims to have two million members around the country and to have infiltrated government offices, factories, schools and the armed forces - members who would not necessarily sport dreadlocks but support and finance the sect behind the scenes.

What is known is that the sect operate in secrecy, taking unusual oaths and saying strange prayers in forests and rivers in central Kenya.

Kikuyu oral literature portray gory images of their ritual scenes: Grown-up men with loincloths wrapped around them, standing bare foot in rivers, engaging in snuff sessions and bathing in blood mixed with urine and goat tripe.

One of its leaders, Maian Njenga, claims he had a vision from God (Ngai) commanding him to unite the Kikuyu and fight foreign ideologies. He is now in hiding, together with his co-leader Ndura Waruinge.

Actions

After last month's Mungiki attack in Nakuru, Interior Security Minister Chris Murungaru ordered a police crackdown on the sect. He accused the former ruling party Kanu of having nurtured and protected the sect during its reign.

But Kanu, now in the opposition, deny the allegations, saying leaders of the sect claim that some senior officials of the new government are members of the sect.

Away from the running battle with the police, the Mungiki members have also been involved in other anti-social acts:

• Stripping women wearing miniskirts and trousers in public

• Forcibly imposing female circumcision

• Raiding police stations to free their own members who were under police custody. And the sect has been assuming a new modern face, using AK-47 assault rifles instead of clubs, machete and swords.

• Sociologist Ken Ouko says the Mungiki sect seem to have managed to address a social and spiritual hunger among the young slum dwellers which the church and the state have failed to feed:

"I would say this is a social reaction to either poverty or just being disgruntled.

"The best approach is talk to Mungiki. If we are going to hunt them down, the problem is going to be worse.

"We have to take a diplomatic approach."

COMMENTS:

COULD THE BEST WAY FORWARD BE NEGOTIATION, SHOULD WE INVITE THE SECT LEADERS FOR DIALOGUE, IS THE GOVERNMENT CAPABLE OF MEETING THE MUNGIKI'S DEMAND SHOULD THEY EMPLOY DIALOGUE METHOD. Send in your suggestions now.

KENYA POLICE DENY SECT BRUTALITY !

Resident have been fleeing the Mathare slum Police in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, have defended their operations against the banned Mungiki sect, amid accusation they used excessive force. Spokesman Eric Kiraithe said the police had to use force after officers came under fire in the Mathare slum. He also confirmed that three more Mungiki suspects had been killed. More than 30 have died this week. The secretive sect has threatened to step up its war in an anonymous e-mail sent to the media. Mungiki members are accused of beheading more than a dozen people, including policemen, in Nairobi and parts of the central province in the past three months. Last week, President Mwai Kibaki warned that Mungiki activities would no longer be tolerated and ordered a shoot-to-kill policy. ' Residents have continued to flee Mathare, scene of this week's clashes. Some 500,000 people normally live in the slum, which is believed to be a Mungiki stronghold. KENYA'S SECRETIVE MUNGIKI Banned in 2002 Thought to be ethnic Kikuyu militants Mungiki means multitude in Kikuyu Inspired by the Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s Claim to have more than 1m followers Promote female circumcision and oath-taking Believed to be linked to high-profile politicians Control public transport routes, demanding levies Blamed for revenge murders in the central region In pictures: Mungiki clashes Profile: Mungiki sect Terror at police tactics "We have arrested 250 suspects and the police are faced with a very grim situation where people were prepared to fire back. It is only unfortunate that some of the suspects were prepared to die fighting," Mr Kiraithe said. Mr Kiraithe said residents were fleeing because they were afraid that police would not be able to protect them from the Mungiki. Opposition leader Kalonzo Musyoka asked the government to stop the operations and instead negotiate with the Mungiki leaders. "It appears to us that clearly they know about them because they have been funding them, why don't they talk to their very own people?" Mr Kalonzo asked. But an e-mail purported to be from the Mungiki sect and made available to the BBC declares war on security forces and leaders who are supporting the crackdown. "Kenyans must know, we have never killed indiscriminately, the ones killed have been previously warned. Now the government has changed the rules of engagement. "You are fighting us as animals and we will become animals," the e-mail reads. The Mungiki are thought to be militants from Kenya's biggest ethnic group, the Kikuyu. Some commentators have linked them to politicians wanting to cause unrest and fear ahead of December elections. BBC NEWS REPORT.

HOW CAN WE STOP THESE KILLINGS

Many kenyans die gruesome deaths everyday. whats worse is that they face a double threat as the police have become brutal than even the mungiki maniac, they kill everyone on site whom they think has features not attractive enough to be a law abiding kenyan. The mungiki on the other hand have taken it a fascinating form of art to dismember their victims before they kill them. the result is confusion and hatred, anger and grief. Meanwhile our politicians who on several occasions have pledged to protect life and dignity of kenyans each time elections are around the corner doesnt seem to loud their mouth good enough as they do while begging for our votes. they dont seem to care as the mungiki menace is not as worth a campaign tool as "the economy is down, the government is chewing out money, corruption is on the rise" and all the other creative statistics and theories they formulate in their blue prints. Never has any of the presidential hopefuls from the so called 'government in waiting' come up with a solution either at their manifesto launching podiums or their road tours. So i call upon fellow kenyans who are the real sufferers to arise, awake and suggest ways of curbing this sectarian-demonic killings forever. this forum is to offer a sound lasting solution from all people of kenya, both in kenya and in diaspora by actively participating in discussion and petitions that we shall later present to the kenyan leadership. my countrymen, we are our own solution to our problems so lets find one before it's too late. post your comments.