Police arrest 11 linked to Mungiki in Kipipiri, Nyandarua

Some of the suspects arrested in the swoop at in Geita area in Kipipiri on March 30, 2018. PHOTO | COURTESY  

In Summary

• The officers rounded up the suspects as they took part in what was believed to be an oathing ceremony.
• A senior officer privy to the raid said the 11 and others were feasting on a goat when police pounced on them.
• "We found paraphernalia, including water stored in a jerrican, which they described as ‘holly’", he told the Nation.

By MACHARIA MWANGI
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Police in Kipipiri, Nyandarua County, have arrested 11 suspected Mungiki adherents amid fears of resurgence of the once dreaded sect.

The officers raided their hideout in Geita area on Thursday night following a tip-off.

GOAT

The officers rounded up the suspects as they took part in what was believed to be an oathing ceremony.

A senior officer privy to the raid said the 11 and others were feasting on a goat when police struck.

"We found paraphernalia, including water stored in a jerrican, which they described as ‘holly’", he told the Nation.

The officer said they were still piecing together intelligence reports to establish the motive of the ceremony.

Area sub-county commissioner Mutuku Mwenga said investigations were under way to establish the tentacles of those arrested.

"We have stepped up our investigations and (we’re) questioning the suspects behind bars to enable us establish their intention,” he said.

WARNING

Police further said the suspects may have been recruiting new members.

The arrests come a week after Central Regional Coordinator Wilson Njenga directed his security team to start a major crackdown on re-emerging organised criminal gangs in the region.

During a meeting with senior police officers, county and sub-county commissioners, chiefs and their assistants at Ol Kalou Catholic Hall, Mr Njenga said criminal gangs, such as Mungiki, were re-emerging.

The crackdown, he said, will go hand in hand with the fight against illicit and second-generation drinks.

The suspects are expected to be arraigned in court after police complete their investigations.

KILLINGS

Mungiki, a banned criminal gang, is feared for its extreme violence.

Since it emerged in the 1990s, it evolved into one of the most feared underground criminal sects in Kenya.

The sect was outlawed in 2002 after it was linked to a series of killings in Nairobi and other parts of the country.

In Nakuru, for instance, the group was linked to the cold-blood execution of 20 people on January 6, 2003, which was followed by another 27 in Nairobi’s Kariobangi area.

In the past Mungiki have also been associated with some rogue politicians.