Irate Kirinyaga residents hacked to death a suspected Mungiki member and torched seven semi-permanent houses for allegedly extorting money from the residents on Wednesday, January 29.
During the violent protests yesterday, the residents of the South Ngariama ranching scheme in Murinduko ward, Mwea-East, took the law into their own hands against suspected members of the outlawed Mungiki sect.
The residents are said to have caught up with one of the suspected Mungiki members in the area and, in a fit of fury, hacked him to death. According to the residents, over 30 members of the outlawed sect had been living in the scheme, with others reportedly managing to escape the angry mob.
Residents claim that the alleged Mungiki members invaded the South Ngariama ranching scheme, extorting money and taking land from farmers. "They came, took land from people, and divided it among themselves, even in town. If you dared say anything, they beat you up," one resident, who did not wish to be identified, told Citizen TV.
He went on to add, "They take people's things—cows, goats, and sheep—every day." "If you take your livestock to the river, they charge you," another resident said.
The over 500 people involved in the protests set seven semi-permanent houses on fire. The houses are said to belong to the 30 people who had been living in the scheme, where they had taken several pieces of land from the locals and planned to attack them.
"They wanted to chase one resident from his piece of land when the angry residents attacked them. Despite being armed with assorted weapons, we managed to overpower them, and one was killed before his body was set on fire," a resident, Peter Wanjohi, said.
"We don't want them here. We want to expel them because they have been extorting money from the residents and taking our pieces of land by force," another resident, Peter Gichira, added.
Residents stated that the sect members were brought to the area by a man posing as a land surveyor for the scheme.
"This man had been using these people to forge our land documents, causing confusion in this scheme, but we have said enough is enough," William Muthike said.
The escalation in hostilities with the group comes barely a month after reports emerged indicating the outlawed group is making a comeback.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua earlier this month directed Mukurwe-ini MP John Kaguchia to file a petition calling for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the government over the alleged use of the outlawed Mungiki faction.
His calls for a probe followed a December 31 political rally, led by the controversial pastor and political leader Maina Njenga. During the meeting, Njenga, who has in the past been linked with Mungiki, revealed that he will be taking on Gachagua head-on.
A visibly frustrated Gachagua alleged that after the political rally on December 31, residents were robbed and harassed, claims that Kenyans.co.ke could not independently verify.
A security team from the Mwea-East sub-county, led by Deputy County Commissioner Fred Ayieko, stated that they would not comment as investigations are still ongoing.
