Return of deadly gangs that kill, extort under the nose of police

The re-emergence of criminal gangs such as the outlawed Mungiki in major towns around the country has caused concerns among security agencies.

Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet early this year issued an alert over re-emergence of criminal gangs ahead of the 2017 elections and warned that police would not allow it.

“The National Police Service is aware of plans to revive over 50 outlawed groups, including Mungiki, in the country, but as police we will not allow them to flourish,” said the police boss.

Over a period of time, police have established that there are lower crime levels during electioneering periods compared to non-election times because most politicians hire criminal gangs to intimidate and attack their opponents.

Backed by politicians and prominent business people, Mungiki has re-emerged more brazen and lethal than before. Its leadership is secretly camouflaged as secret, well organised businesses with suave businessmen and women.

However, even with Boinnet’s warning, the outlawed sect has continued to flourish in Nairobi, Nakuru, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Kiambu, Kajiado, Ongata Rongai, among other towns, with impunity and sometimes with complicity of police officers.

Every evening, Ronald Ngala Street next to GCHU School in Nairobi, OTC stage, Haile Selassie roundabout and Race Course Road are impassable as they are usually blocked by ‘paying’ matatus, courtesy of an organised gang.

The gang collects millions of shillings daily from matatu operators.

In the city, most matatu termini are controlled by Mungiki members who menacingly demand and extort money in the guise of stage management fees.

Just as National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga was leaving Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on November 17, his supporters were accosted by a group of about 200 suspected Mungiki members on Airport North Road before both groups were dispersed by police.

On the same night there were reports of suspected Mungiki gang members attacking Kayole, Dandora, Umoja and Ruai residents before police were deployed.

On the night of November 18, five people were killed in unprovoked attacks by suspected Mungiki members in the re-emergence of politically instigated killings in the city’s Riverside and Kariobangi North areas. The bodies, which included that of a woman and some employees of the nearby Ruaraka Export Processing Zone (EPZ), had gunshot wounds and panga cuts, which were blamed on Mungiki members.

Ethnic-driven attacks

Although Nairobi police boss Japheth Koome attributed the murders to criminal acts as opposed to ethnic-driven attacks, residents said only members of particular communities were targeted.

The well organised attackers armed with guns and pangas are alleged to have demanded for identity cards from the victims as they rode on motorcycles during the killing spree.

During the ensuing protests, opposing gangs engaged each other and burned vehicles in day-long running battles as police watched.

Last week, claims emerged that suspected Mungiki members were demanding and receiving payments from traders of certain tribes at Muthurwa market as ‘protection fees’.

The traders told the Sunday Standard that they are intimidated, threatened and blackmailed to pay Sh180 daily, failing which their stalls are vandalised. They say while one group of youth at the market demands Sh30 as cleaning fees, the second group asks for Sh50 for security, then third and main group made up of older men, led by a man who boasts of his association with senior government officials, demands for Sh100.

On November 17, 20-year-old Stephen Ogada who operated a M-Pesa kiosk in Muthurwa market was dragged from his hideout during demonstrations by two groups as Raila returned from the US.

The gang members, who chanted Mungiki-associated songs, slit Ogada’s throat and dragged his body along Landhies Road before police collected it and took it to City Mortuary.

There have been several reported cases of the re-emergence of the proscribed group after a major crackdown by police, led by then Commissioner of Police Maj Gen Hussein Ali, on orders of Internal Security Minister, the late John Michuki.

Recently, Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria expressed concerns over re-emergence of Mungiki disguised as ‘Njaa Nene’ aligned to a local politician.

He urged security agents to crack down on the group, which he claimed was involved in criminal activities. Murang’a County Security Chairman John Elungata confirmed the existence of the group and promised to deal with it.

As early as June 2016, Nyeri police boss Onesmus Musyoki warned of the re-emergence of Mungiki, who he said were operating in three matatu termini, extorting money from PSV operators as security fees.

In Nakuru, there have been complaints by the Nakuru Hawkers Association of the re-emergence of Mungiki in the town, menacingly demanding money from traders and residents. Association chairman Simon ole Naiseku said Mungiki members have continued to harass traders from as far back as 2015.

Mungiki is among 18 such groups that were in March 2007 proscribed by the government over their involvement in criminal activities around the country with the support of some politicians.

The groups included Taliban, Jeshi la Mzee, Jeshi la Embakasi, Jeshi la King’ole, Baghdad Boys, Chinkororo, Amachuma, Banyamulenge, Dalas Muslim Youth, Runyenjes Football Club, Kya Bombo Youth, Sakina Youth, Charo Shutu Kuzacha, Kamjesh, Jeshi la Nazir and Kosovo Boys.

So infamous had the groups become that the government banned them and began an elaborate crackdown on their members in an operation that saw many of them fall.