Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – At least 24 people have died in conflict that broke out between locals and members of the Mungiki sect, in Karatina, a city in the Nyeri West district, at 100 km from Nairobi in Kenya.
Police say that it is still impossible to establish among the victims, which ones belonged to the sect and which ones did not. The fighting broke out on the night of April 20, when a group of armed men tried to drive the Mungiki out of the city. “The local people are tired of the continual harassment of the Mungiki,” a local Church source told Agenzia Fides. Names have been withheld for security reasons. “The sect imposed taxes and payments of tributes for every economic activity. Not only businessman, but also coffee and tea (the main resources of the area) growers are forced to pay tribute to the Mungiki. The Mungiki have also imposed road tolls for whoever travels by car, taxi, bus, and even bicycle.”
“From the information we have,” Fides sources said, “the violence in Karatina was provoked by the spread of a rumor saying that the Mungiki had made plans to impose more taxes, this time on housing. The inhabitants were exasperated and organized a group in self-defense, to drive out the members of the sect living in Karatina. The inhabitants have probably played a role in what occurred just days ago in a village at about 50 kilometers from Karatina, where the lacerated bodies of various members of the Mungiki were found.”
The Mungiki are not simply a gang of thugs, but an authentic sect that calls for a return to “traditional African values.” Founded in the 1980s, the Mungiki sect was outlawed by the local authorities, due to its involvement in extortion and violence. In 2003, the Catholic Church launched an alert regarding the risk to public order presented by the sect, after several of its members killed 23 people in a Nairobi slum. “The Mungiki, as a result of their criminal activity, have considerable economic resources, which is how they manage to gain political protection. The intimate relationship between the sect and certain politicians is so complex that it is difficult to determine who controls who: if the corrupt politicians are the ones who take advantage of the Mungiki or if it is the other way around,” Fides sources said.
In September 2008, a report from the United Nations denounced the extra-judicial execution of at least 500 members of the sect, carried out by Kenyan police (see Fides 24/9/2008).
“After the publication of the UN Report, the Mungiki got back up on their pedestal and felt that it was 'legitimate' that they continue taking advantage of the people, while the police were forced to move with greater caution in their dealings with the sect. The consequence of all this has been in that the people have been left to their own devices and now, unfortunately, they are reacting to the violence with more violence. Only the constitutional state, with an efficient police force that acts with legality and with respect for all people's rights, can place an end to the situation,” Fides sources concluded. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 21/4/2009)
