Njenga: ‘I have given up pursuing justice on my wife’s killing’

By Dann Okoth

Few words describe Maina Njenga after his sojourn in a proscribed group, Christianity and politics — defiant, enigmatic and cunning—a weasel, if you like.

Yet, the former Mungiki leader has an unlikely side to his character. He is also empathetic and emotional.

The latter characteristics emerged one Saturday afternoon recently on his farm in Kiserian as he recounted the events surrounding the death of his wife Virginia Nyakio in March 2008. Referred to only as ‘chairman’ by people close to him, the man known to wield a steel nerve and animalistic indifference — as he steered the largest, most ruthless and controversial sect in Kenya’s history — appears to shed a tear as he remembers how his children are struggling to cope without their mother and how justice has eluded him.

“It is difficult especially for the children because they have to go through life and school without the help of their mother. They are suffering,” Njenga says, his eyes straying briefly to scan the lush-green hills in the background of his home. “It is much harder for them because I’m not always there to help either.”

He says the murder of his wife and four others was brutal, uncalled for and unconstitutional.

Police brutality

“It was one single mass murder carried in the most brutal manner that underpinned police brutality and extra-judicial killings in the country,” he says.

Njenga recounts he received news of his wife’s death while in incarceration at Naivasha Maximum Security Prison having been arrested, charged and convicted for being in possession of firearms, among other charges.

“I remember it was in the afternoon when a friend came to visit and broke the news to me. I was shocked at first because I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to harm Nyakio. Then I was angry, but again there was nothing I could do because I was behind bars,” he says.

“The first thing I did when I came out of prison was to hit the ground running. I mobilised funds to settle the mortuary bill, which had accumulated to Sh6 million and organised to buy land to bury my wife and four others who died alongside her,” Njenga says.

He notes he tried to pursue justice for his wife and the others after the burial but cited stonewalling by authorities.

“Even if a street boy were to be killed today, at least there would be an effort by the police to investigate. In the case of my wife and the others, there was nothing beyond the initial statement recorded in the police Occurrence Book at Langata Police Station,” he says.

“There was also this disturbing attitude among the authorities to stereotype and frustrate anyone who showed interest in trying to get to the bottom of the murders. In their eyes, you were a Mungiki if you tried to associate yourself with the murdered lot. People became afraid no matter what vital information they might have had,” he adds.

Nyakio is believed to have been abducted, raped and beheaded by persons believed to be working for the State. Within a few days, two top officials of the Kenya National Youth Alliance – Mungiki’s political party – were gunned down by unidentified people along Nairobi-Naivasha highway. The two were on their way to see Njenga in prison in Naivasha.

One of the dead was a brother to Nyakio’s driver. According to eyewitnesses, the gunmen identified themselves as police officers. Their bodies and that of Nyakio were later discovered in Gakoe Forest in Gatundu. And on April 29, 2008, another Mungiki leader Joseph Maina Kangethe alias Diambo, named by the International Criminal Court as having attended a meeting at State House to plan the Naivasha revenge attacks in 2007 post-election violence was lured to his death by a top Government official.

Kang’ethe was called to a city hotel to collect Sh3 million, which was to be used for Nyakio’s burial before he vanished. Two other Mungiki adherents who accompanied him to the meeting were later killed and their bodies dumped in Mai Mahiu.

A report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) produced in August 2008 depicts a more complicated, well-oiled plan to execute Nyakio.

The report, a follow-up of another on extra-judicial killings and disappearances, relying on a police whistleblower, blames special crimes unit officers for killing Nyakio and her driver, George Njoroge on April 8, 2008.

An informer from a mobile phone service provider, the report says, allegedly informed the unit that Njenga’s wife was heading towards Ngong town. The police trailed her vehicle and arrested them at Nairobi West at the Madaraka Estate junction.

It is understood the police were mostly interested in her driver, another of the Wagacha sons and not Ms Njenga herself.

The report notes that the squad was allegedly led by top police officers (names withheld).

Put in trunks

In the afternoon, the police took Nyakio and her driver to Lukenya area along Mombasa Road and murdered them. Nyakio was hacked on the neck with a machete while her driver was bludgeoned to death.

Their bodies were put in the trunks and the police, along with Nyakio’s vehicle, drove towards Emali and then took Oloitokitok Road.

Along the way, they met an Administration Police roadblock where they were stopped. They informed the APs that they were police officers from Nairobi on an official mission to Oloitokitok. After a few kilometres, they reportedly burnt Nyakio’s vehicle (Toyota RAV4) after stealing some valuable parts and accessories.

They then drove back to Nairobi with the bodies still in the trunks and eventually dumped them at Gakoe Forest in Thika.

The following day, local residents spotted the burnt vehicle and reported the matter to police. AP officers reportedly confirmed having seen the vehicle with the police the previous day. However, the issue of the burnt car was concealed on intervention of senior officers. The Commissioner of Police reportedly promoted the whole squad as a sign of appreciation. Two officers (Njoroge and Muthee) were promoted to the rank of sergeants while 123 other officers were promoted to the rank of corporals. The squad shared out all the money Nyakio had on her that day. Postmortem examinations revealed that the two died of injuries caused by sharp force trauma.

When Ndung’u Wagacha, the brother to the slain driver of Njenga’s wife enquired from the police the whereabouts of the two, the police informed him the duo were seen crossing the border into Tanzania.

Two killings

“It was a smart way to deflect attention and buy time as they figured out how they would deal with repercussions of the two killings because the commission had warned the police to handle the matter with care,” explains Joseph Njoroge, a close confidant of Njenga.

“Ndung’u and another of his brother Waithaka Wagacha set off towards the border. However, on their way, they sensed danger and decided to return to Nairobi. While still on their way, the police again called them to inform them that the bodies were discovered to Gakoe Forest, while in fact the bodies were lying at City Mortuary all along,” Njoroge says.

Interestingly, Njenga hinted Nyakio’s death could have been political after she had expressed interest in the Laikipia parliamentary seat.

“I know there were some people who were not happy with her political ambitions and may have targeted her for elimination,” he says.

Quite significantly, though, Njenga admitted having given up trying to bring the people who killed his wife to justice. “Even if it were you, what would you do? How do you proceed in a matter like this, which seems complicated for an ordinary person like me? Doesn’t it seem to you as impossible to fight forces that are bigger than you,” he says.

However, Njenga maintains that the Constitution guarantees the right to life and challenges the Government to come out clean on the killings if it believes in the constitutional provision.