AFRICA/KENYA - Clashes continue between police and members of the Mungiki sect: at least 112 persons killed during the month of June

Nairobi (Agenzia Fides)- A tragic June for clashes between police forces and criminal gangs in Kenya. According to the local police at least 112 persons were killed in clashes between the police and criminal gangs including members of the violent Mungiki sect (see Fides 25 May and 8 June 2007). Official reports say the police killed 73 suspected Mungiki; 28 citizens were also killed by mistake or for revenge (often decapitated) by the bandits and 11 of those killed were policemen. The news has been given ample space in local newspapers which liken the numbers of dead with those in the attack on the United States Embassy in Nairobi, in which 223 people died.
Clashes continue in this month of July. Yesterday 2 July the police killed 21 members of the criminal sect, taken by surprise at night in a Muranga, in central Kenya, an area which, with the Nairobi slums, is a stronghold for the sect. So far 3.379 Mungiki have been arrested and the police has promised to restore order in the areas controlled by the sect. However some human rights organisations says police methods are too violent.
The Mungiki sect promotes “traditional African values”. Formed in the 1980s the Mungiki was outlawed by the local authorities for extortion and violence. In 2003 when Mungiki members killed 23 people in another slum in the capital, the local Catholic Church warned that the sect was a risk to public order and safety. Some observers say the sect draws inspiration from the Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s against British colonial power, and it is most active in degraded parts of the capital and central Kenya. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 3/7/2007 righe 30 parole 396)