Fresh details emerged today how the wife of jailed Mungiki leader Maina Njenga was brutally murdered and the involvement of a new elite squad directly answerable to police commissioner Mohamed Hussein Ali.
It emerged that Ms Virginia Nyakio’s execution was plotted by an elite squad codenamed The Eagle, which was recently formed by Maj Gen Ali to replace the disbanded Kwekwe Squad. Just like Kwekwe, the Eagle Squad is directly answerable to Maj Gen Ali and it was formed to exclusively hunt down members of the dreaded Mungiki sect.
Police officers who spoke on condition they would not be named for security reasons said Nyakio was seized by members of the Eagle Squad in Nairobi on suspicion she had taken over the leadership of Mungiki on behalf of her husband, who is serving his jail term at the Naivasha Maximum Security Prison after he was convicted for being in possession of an unlawful gun and bhang.
They said the Eagle Squad interrogated the woman on the activities of the outlawed sect and how much money she had in her bank account. The police claim they had received information that Mungiki members were still channelling part of the cash they extorted from public service vehicles and businesses, mostly in Nairobi Central and Rift Valley provinces, to Mr Njenga’s wife.
Afterwards, the officers said, Ms Nyakio was tricked to call her driver, Mr George Njoroge, to meet pick her in a certain location in Nairobi. The officers from the elite unit ordered her not to betray she was under arrest when making the call and they promised to release her if she cooperated.
She believed the officers and obeyed their instructions. The officers then accompanied Ms Nyakio to the meeting place and seized Mr Njoroge. They then proceeded to the bank and ordered Ms Nyakio to withdraw all the cash she had in her account. The account was reportedly holding more than Sh5million. It’s unclear what became of the seized cash since it has triggered bad blood in the squad, with junior officers accusing their head of pocketing all of it.
The officers who spoke to us said Ms Nyakio and Mr Njoroge were later taken to a forest in Kajiado District where the driver was told how the woman had betrayed him. The police tricked him they would release him if he carried out their orders which required him to...
Story Updated at 5:32 PM Kenyan time
I have seen some of the comments and I have raised the questions with my sources. Here is what they had to say;
It's not illegal to withdraw Sh5million, all you have to do is make the arrangements to do so.
The undercover cops attached to the elite squads use all sorts of tactics to achieve what they want, "we cannot say more," they said.
They then posed, if 5,000 youths vanished just like that last year after being arrested by cops in the full presence of their wives and family members, what is the big deal with a signatory to an account being forced to withdraw Sh5 million under duress?
The reason those elite squads operate discreetly is for them to achieve the results their bosses want.
Read on
'...An estimated 5,000 youth who were branded Mungiki followers by the Kwekwe Squad were rounded up from their homes at night in parts of Central, Nairobi and Rift Valley provinces by members of the elite unit and never to be seen alive again...'
ReplyDeleteChris, by now you know my feelings about mungiki or any criminal gang. But can anyone tell me how 5000 bodies can be hidden. Which wild beasts will eat up to skeletons? It is very vacuous to claim bodies were eaten by wild beasts. Even Julie Ward or Ouko's bodies were found despite all efforts to destroy them.
I have seen only reports of about 50 people claiming their sons are missing. But 5000? lets be realistic mungiki can only be defeated using their own gory tactics.
I am sorry it had to come to this part, but, cancer requires aggressive treatment.
Hehehehehee Chris you did it again.The story is very frivolous and juicy i may say.At this point one can either buy it or just look at the label and run.
ReplyDeleteIts difficult for one to verify the authenticity of your sources directly or the plain of it by reading.Again in Kenya nothing is too strange to happen.Its just about only Kenya where happenings cannot be said as to only happen in hollywood but they do happen here.
But then it begs one question,If the Eagle squad is such a big secret,how do such seemingly classified info come out and find its way into kumekucha?
Anyhow i want to trust the credibility of your sources.By the way i notice the story is completed on kumekucha1,are we having a new kid born outta wedlock?Have a nice evening.
Living in interesting times. In by the sword out by the very blade. Life is sacred so it must be respected by all. You don't go skinning heads and then yell human rights when Lucifer cools your blood for dinner, or do you?
ReplyDeleteMungiki is a manace and only unorthodox tricks would work. But whether this is true or another Kiraithe's RAMBO MOVIE only time will tell. Leaves one wonmdering WHICH BANK GIVES A CUSTOMER KES 5M without notice?
TWO things are two though: 1. Mungiki has splintered. 2. There is money issue involved. Back to Mrembo's question reverse the roles of RAO talking to Mungiki with MK and Michuki and the reactions is mirror image of Kenya.
Taabu in agreeance on your take.Unless Mungiki dont bank like it apparently appears and even if it did,i wonder what sort of business Mungiki would have to warrant one Nyakio to carry that huge amount of money with her on a saturday afternoon,perhaps to buy a plot somewhere in Rongai.
ReplyDeletePerson i am having a hardtime trying to believe RAO could honestly sit and talk to Mungiki,I always entertain the idea that he only meant the government to negotiate vis-avis the ministry of security.But i found RAO too prudent to negotiate with a rag-tag tribal outfit,which has no legitimacy in any of its operations,workings and or arguements.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteAre you sure it was 5,000 dead mungiki adherents? Wouldn't everyone have heard about it? To be honest that number is shocking if not downright unbelievable!!
I am sorry, I am not sympathetic to the mungiki plight and for that reason I will not comment on the main subject of your story.
-Mrembo
This post raises more questions than answers.....
ReplyDelete1. Which bank did Mrs Njenga withdraw Ksh 5M from and what procedures were followed?
2. Nearly all banks have CCTV cameras, so was Mrs Njenga recorded on that day she withdrew the money, who accompanied her and is the footage still available?
3. Which account was withdrawn the money and is she the sole signatory?
4. Where did she get the Ksh 5M from and what's the balance in that account so far?
5. Where and when was she killed?
6. If she was not killed on the same day she was hijacked, where did she spend the night and with who?
7. Does Safaricom or Celtel have all her call records for the week she disappeared?
8. Why hasn't anyone been arrested and convicted over the murders of 5,000 alleged Mungiki youths?
9. Why hasn't the president spoken about the deaths of 5,000 mostly jobless youths and can that be tolerated in any other country?
10. What criteria was used to hire Gen Ali for the top job having been in the army and not police?
11. Why are Central province MPs so quiet about this issue, what have they got to hide?
12. Who are current and previous alleged godfathers of Mungiki?
13. What is PM Raila contemplating to do about all these issues?
14. Who does Gen Ali think he is?
Chris,
ReplyDeleteYour update at 5.32 pm has not addressed my question. How do you hide 5000 bodies in a crowded location like central Kenya and its environs?
The very premise that wild animals ate the bodies is flawed. You know the dwindling number of wildlife in Nairobi National Park. Not enough scavengers to eat 5000 bodies.
I refrain from addressing other issues in the story because of my obvious positions of Mungiki.
5000 people is ridiculous a number and improbable one at that. This is just one of the many serious flaws in the story that all of us have raised
Chris is somewhat economic with the numbers.
ReplyDeleteThe actual number of youths killed were more than 8000 and the whereabouts of up to 5000 more currently remain unknown.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7112183.stm
Some bodies have been discovered in forests, Athi River along mombasa road while others found in mortuaries spread across Kenya.
I do not think it is FAIR OR JUST to accuse these young men of being Mungiki without giving them a chance to defend themselves in a court of law.
Clearly, with the Mungiki, there are a lot of counting errors
ReplyDeleteEstimated membership = 1.5M
Recent demonstration by about 3000
Extra judicial killings about 5000
Amount of cash withdrawn 5M
How many have been killed by Mungiki?
It appears that the two sides (Police and Mungiki) are beefing (topping) up the numbers to score points. Whether the numbers add up or not is irrelevant, every single death is abhorable and as it is right now, heinous crimes are being committed by Mungiki and Police.
Regardless, execution of criminals point to one thing, NOBODY including the police have faith in the justice system of Martha/Gicheru/Wako to deliver. Criminals are released almost instantly while innocent people are framed and left to languish in police cells.
We need a comprehensive clean up the entire judiciary system for people to have trust in the due process of the law. That is the bigger problem.
urxlnc
Thank you Phil,
ReplyDeleteMy sources for this story are impeccable and A1 quality-wise. I stand by this post and will not change a single comma.
Some of the people who have given me information here have risked a lot and may not be able to give certain details without making it obvious where such highly sensitive info leaked from.
-kumekucha-
m-pesa
ReplyDeletemajibu..
1. She was a celeb in the underground, maybe banks at central bank of Kenya
2. cams already erased
3. could be any account and could have been withdrawn in the name of utumishi kwa wote quickly
4. mungiki make millions through extortion
5. probably somewhere else then dumped
6. police custody or was on transit to another holding
7. safaricom are gangsters as we know they are connected to some kenyan mafia.no threats sent to anyone have born fruit in Kenya so fake lead.
8. unless caught on videotape and placed in youtube
9. president concentrates on economics only not any other stuff
10. toa kitu kidogo criteria, most Kenyans are adversed to this system even for promotions at work if ur not from the same tribe.
11. Once you take the oath you cannot go back lest you be no more
12. the silence speaks for its self here
13. fix a MOU most probably
14. untouchable?
..'A human-rights organisation has claimed that Kenyan police killed as many as 8,040 people by execution or torture during a crackdown on a banned sect'.. Body counts are always morbid affairs. But the above numbers remain only claims.
ReplyDeleteTHe numbers do not add up. How can over 5000 people disappear silently! Lets assume with our extended families each of the people has 10 relatives that is already half a million people missing a loved one. Too many people to be silent.
If Phil estimation is correct then we have 13000 dead or missing. More than coalition causalities in Iraq, Afghanistan and the WTC! uhm does not make sense
Dealing with mungiki would require thorough and robust detailed information of how the sect first came into place.
ReplyDeleteRounding up youths and feeding them to the crocs will not deter or eliminate ‘em.
It’s until the security services get into nitty-gritty details of mungiki doctrines, the recruitment programmes and its main objections, can they claim success.
Mungiki first and foremost is a religious sect with political aims. The organisation also bears the characteristics of Sicilian Mafia, Chicago street gang and African occultisms.
Anyone wish to tackle Mungiki menace must understand everything mungiki is.
Dealing with mungiki is not that entirely complex like people thinks, it just requires a commited intelligence services to share information with Italian govt on dealing with mafia and Chicago police dept on how to deal with the street gangs and educating young people on dangers and predicaments of occultisms
I suggest police protection for all informers and defectors and a rehabilitation programme.
Kwale
Which bank is this that allows someone to withdraw 5 million by duress?
ReplyDeleteSo let's do the maths, shall we?
ReplyDeleteMUNGIKI MEMBERS: 1,500,000
EXECUTED YOUTHS: 8,000
REMAINING MEMBERS: 1,492,000
Now, that's a tall order for Gen Ali by any standards. It's obvious execution in cold blood will not work otherwise the city will not have shut earlier last week, would it? Point is, isn't there a better way of dealing with this cult? Violence only breeds violence, common sense. Since Kibaki has buried his head in the sand and refused to confront reality-- Raila over to you son!
Fave
ReplyDeleteFood for thought. Like I said earlier, I agree totally with what you've said about Mungiki, and hate to play devils advocate, literally in this case, but lets step outside for a moment and reflect on other conflicts like Palestine/Israeli conflict, or the one in Iraq, Somalia, and even think back about the now resolved IRA/British and Mau Mau/colonials affairs. All these border on criminal behaviour and mirror the same issues but at different levels (we do not really know how much intimidation and extortion of locals actually happen), but you will see that the moment a few responsible leaders sit on a table and the guns fall silent, then a lot more can be achieved at a relatively lower cost to human life and resources? Isnt the grand coalition still fresh in our minds? Or what is the alternative, send out a murderous squads or militant groups to exterminate one group? Followed by revenge attacks and the see-saw game continues for generations to come (like the Israeli/Arab conflict thats been going on for as long as i remember) At some point we even forget what the root cause of conflict really is.
"come let us sit and reason together"
i do not condone or accept being held hostage by criminal gangs but i almost certainly encourage and embrace anybody willing to follow the path of dialogue in conflict mitigation, resolution and management.
The security forces in Kenya have failed to contain the violence meted out and extortion rings by these criminal gangs by proactively foiling their evil schemes before they take root and have now resorted to assassination. The problem with this is that criminals and innocent victims alike will be caught up in the sordid mess. Remember eliminating 200 criminals is rendered irrelevant by the slaying of 1 innocent blood.
urxlnc
Thanks Kumekucha- good report- even murderers and thieves deserve their day in court!!who gave Kibaki? Ali or any police to take away peoples life's with a hand clap?? who??
ReplyDeleteurxlnc.
ReplyDeleteMy beef is entirely with the fact that Mungiki have no cause at all. What are they fighting for by extorting money and disrupting public transport? No need to negotiate with mungiki. Circumcising women, women should not wear trousers? It is a barbaric movement. My friend, I unashamedly have no empathy for mungiki, they have no mercy for anyone. Their cries never reach my ears, the only cries are for their innocent victims.
I agree it is going to be messy to deal with mungiki but they are a messy bunch of murderous louts
Has the italian govt negotiated with mafia or the japanese government negotiated with the Yakuza?. Your examples like mau mau etc are based of what can be called legitimate liberation movements.
Mungiki do not fall into any liberation movement. I will not accept mungiki running to RAO's arms when the same tactics they use are applied to them. RAO accepting to negotiate with them is is his first mistake. I believe I am a most reasonable individual. As I said earlier mungiki have no redeeming point.
ok fave
ReplyDeletei'm beaten thoroughly into submission
urxlnc
Chris:
ReplyDeleteThis is a story with a million holes in it. Simply stated, this is a make-belief story and whoever fed it to you has no clue as to how the elite police units operate or what has been going on inside the Mungiki since the leader (Njenga) was imprisoned.
What is amazing is that you fell for it either because of your overwhelming desire to make headlines or to finish the little image of our police that is still left. I come from the Murang'a you are writing about and I visit my family there regularly (at least once a month). Between the police and Mungiki, I will give the benefit of doubt to the police anytime without a second thought.
For you to imply that the Police Commissioner Gen Ali might be complicit in the murders of the Mungiki youth including Njenga's wife is to do untold injustice to Gen Ali and the police especially if all the evidence you have are these concoted tales. I, too, love rumours, but when they involve matters of such gravity I would not repeat them, not even to my sweetheart, before verifying. And talking to a man in the shadows who pretends to be a crack force insider, and believing him is simply stupid.
Did you really stop to reflect how large a figure 5,000 is of murdered people in an open society like Kenya. For example, the figure of the victims of the inter-ethnic post-election violence did not come close to an half of that. Even Idi Amin took some time to kill such a number of people. Yes, some Mungiki have been killed by police in unclear circumstances, but to claim that the police under direct command of the Commissioner have murdered 5,000 in one single year is a most malicious claim even under the pretense of freedom of speech. Again, the police have not always behaved professionally, but they are still the last line of defense between the Mungiki machetes and many innocent necks.
In the underworld of terrorists and criminals like Mungiki, murder is a constant occassioned by fall-outs due power struggles, financial betrayals and love triangles. It is therefore prudent to bear this in mind while commenting on the death of Njenga's wife.
Despite their recent display of organised terror, Mungiki is undergoing a crisis period. Often police detectives exploit such times to penetrate such gangs and gather intelligence or plant misinformation to try to destroy them from inside. If the police were allowed to do there work without political intereference the likelihood is high of breaking the command structure of Mungiki this time. In their recent uprising, Mungiki regional coordinators left their electronic footprints all over the map especially because they heavily relied on the mobile phones to communicate. But Raila is standing i the way of the police. Why?
The answer begins with the jailing of Njenga. Mungiki could not believe that their supreme leader could be sentenced to jail time given their alleged high connections in Kibaki's government. But it happened. So when Mungiki were approached about revenging Kikuyu post-election massacres in RV, Mungiki were anxious to extract a promise (MOU) that if they do a good job their leader would be released from jail. After the "good" job in Nakuru and Naivasha, they expected their MOU to be honoured and it wasn't. They were boiling with anger and did not know what to do. It was thereafter that the first known contact between ODM and Mungiki occurred. It is still not clear which side approached the other first. But the contacts had Njenga's blessings against the strong wishes of the more conservative wing of Mungiki. It caused a division among the ranks. It is noteworthy that the coordinators who replaced those who were hammered by Michuki are clean shaven, can used a fork and address the press. These are the majority and the ones who favored a tactical alliance with ODM (at least to try to get their leader out). But as far as the wife was concerned getting the husband out was not on her priority list. With the husband behind the bars she tasted unlimited power (including attempting active politics) and managed a fat bank account. Unfortunately, in her new found glory she forget to take care of the footsoldiers who at least expect to be helped with funeral expenses when their comrades fall in the line of duty. Whether these missteps are responsible for wife's death is yet to be known publicly.
Back to ODM connection. When Mungiki appeared responsive, ODM could not believe their lack. The issue was discussed at the highest level of the party and the matter of Govt and Mungiki being taken to Hague was shelved for the time being. ODM had just seen how easy it was to penetrate tribal votes using "aggrieved" youth. They were not about to ignore a golden opportunity to establish a foothold among the GEMA youth. Also, the possibility of having a low-cost, self-financed, large-scale militia which had the potential of being used against the Mt. Kenya elite was very attractive. It wasn't therefore surprising to see Raila, on being sworn as PM, jump and embrace Mungiki in the guise that as a PM he was reaching out to all in the name of peace. Going forward, expect ODM to sound supportive of Mungiki against the police. But I can bet with you that in the long run the sound of the break of the unholy Raila/Mungiki matrimony will be louder than the thunders of Mt. Kenya.
Mungiki is a snake and whoever embraces it, whether it be Kiai, Raila, or lately Chris, must prepare their will in advance and carry anti-poison pill. That is how deadly they are!!
For once I find myself agreeing with FAVE and TAABU that Mungiki must be delt with by force if necessary. I was in Kangema yesterday and the people their are asking for Michuki to be returned to Internal Security Ministry just to finish off Mungiki. They are very bitter that they could not sell their milk or pick tea for four days because of the death of some Mungiki woman whom they had never seen or heard of. Kibaki has also suddenly become very unpopular. They cannot believe how poorly the crisis in the RV was handled and now Mungiki. The citizens of this area are very angry and ready to break away from this govt. The problem is that they don't have an alternative leader to follow. The area is ripe for a revolution.
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:20
ReplyDeleteMuch as I sympathise with Kangema-nites, its too late, where were they when the rest of the country was saying Kibaki just wont do. Let them feed on their poison for a little while. Ati they are complaining about 4 days, while the country burned for 3 months, and even today going on the fifth month, IDPs are not trying to sell milk, they just need a place to call home. Oh please.
Anon 11:42
ReplyDeleteThis certainly sounds a lot more informed with more useful insight.
Agreed since the sect is proscribed therefore information is bound to be scanty and difficult to corroborate, nevertheless, that appears a lot more credible.
I do however discern a spirited attempt to exonerate the police who so far are doing a very shoddy job. But under the circumstances it all pans out much better.
Bottom line, Mungiki continued existence as a murderous outfit is largely due to connections with and sponsorship or patronage of a large number of MPs in the PNU government.
I'm still trying to understand how 3000 demonstrators of an illegal sect announce membership of the sect and still roam around.
I have read lies, imaginary stories, cooked-up, non-existent, made-up, rumours, make-believe, but this one is the worst of any kind of lies a man will ever read. Oh No Chris, this is a big lie. You are lying. Stop it.
ReplyDeleteThe GOVERNMENT of Kenya led by Mwai Kibaki has announced that it will roll out circumscision to all Kenyans as a way of tackling the issue of Aids. Already, the Luo Council of Elders and Raila Odinga are FEARING and complaining about that. Please, this stops Aids and makes a grown up act his age.
ReplyDeleteNjoroge Stanley, the Earl of Kabeteshire from the Great County of Kikuyu, Home of Alliance High Schools and Thogoto Mission, Kari, KEFRI and many others. MP-Elect Kikuyu 2012, Minister of Finance 2013.
Njoro the buffoon of Kabete has finally resurfaced now that the coast is clear.
ReplyDeleteThis kenya times article echoes what former KANU mps want
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kenyatimesonline.com/content.asp?catid=2&articleId=3098
hahahahaha ati the kut stops spread of HIV/AIDS, oh no think again, when the condoms came you celebrated, the cut???????????????????tell me when %of those curretly cut are infected???????????????. NONO it is simple, behaviour!!!period.
ReplyDeleteFrivolous illogical rumour mongering and lies. Even lying requires intelligence.
ReplyDeleteHow on earth do you kill 5000 people in the flawless manner of a special forces operation, such that nobody knows of it nor has a clue as to where the bodies are buried? Kenyan security forces are simply not equipped nor disciplined and well trained enough to carry out such a discreet operation, unless of course, it happens in your mind.
The fact is that the NSIS knows Mungiki inside out and there is nothing that happens there that the NSIS doesn't know about. They know the entire leadership, the membership and the political financiers. This is info Kibaki has.
The problem is that Kibaki and some of his advisers are too cowardly and politically indecisive to take the actions necessary to finish Mungiki for good.
All the rest is just bunk, including the formation of a so-called "Eagle" squad. It does not exist. During the recent Mungiki mayhem, a newly formed outfit called "Nyoka" squad was about to be unleashed on the mungiki before they ceased fire, and this time the intention was to pound them into dust.
The author needs to stop engaging in intellectual masturbation, writing articles just to spite and feel good, without necessarily getting the desired release from hate.
Kimi being full of yourself never translated into being knowledgeable. Learn to diagree in civility. You spew so mush heat so much so that it extinguishes any trace on light in your arguments. You are so bitter with yourself and thinly cloth it as factual whereas on retrospection you will discover to your amazement that you are only repackaking mainstream media reports. Cool down mate and have your head in the freezer probably that will make you coherent and understandble. But then knwoing you that is a tall order and we must be ready to have you complete the market population.
ReplyDeleteTaabu, Stop whining. I know where you think i got the info on NSIS, the last Sunday Nation. Well, you couldn't be more wrong, and you may or may not be surprised to know that this info has been around for more than three years. It was merely being repeated. The intel methods on infiltrating mungiki actually came from the British Secret Service, MI6, five years ago. chew on that first.
ReplyDeleteYou still haven't answered my question: How on earth do you kill 5000 people in the flawless manner of a special forces operation, such that nobody knows of it nor has a clue as to where the bodies are buried?
Kimi THANKS for sobering up. Just read your posts and see the difference if you can. I have no qualms with your persona by mode of communicating that obsecures your message. To cut a long story short Mungiki is not the Mafia it is thought to be and it can be WIPED out in a day. What is lacking is LEADERHIP. You said it all Kibaki has none of that and no balls. Keep them coming and indulge bro, tuko pamoja na tuzidi.
ReplyDeleteTaabu, you are obviously a highly intelligent and very well informed man. However, you misdirect your intellectual prowess to the wrong place in constantly attacking personalities, to no effect. Use your power to educate the slower minds on this forum. Invite more knowledgeable debate. This forum has become a platform for "mchongoano" and lies instead.
ReplyDeleterumours kibao!
ReplyDelete