The Mungiki Madness

The latest international headlines out of Kenya are grim, as they usually are when they reach the world stage. At least 29 people are dead after an outbreak of violence just north of Nairobi. The last time Kenya made world news was when two human rights activists were murdered in the streets of Nairobi in March. What connects these two stories is one brutal gang, considered Kenya's version of the mafia: the Mungiki.

The Mungiki started in the 1980s as a pseudo-religious sect with political ambitions. But it's transformed into a nightmare group of militants which was banned in 2002. According to the BBC:

"They extort, engage in fraud, robbery, murder and even kidnap their victims.

Media reports say the sect has evolved over the years into an organised and intimidating underworld gang with bases in Nairobi, and parts of Central and Rift Valley Provinces.

They control public transport routes and demand illegal levies from operators.

Mungiki followers reign supreme within city slums, notably Mathare in the east of the capital. Here they provide illegal water and electricity connections to hundreds of makeshift shacks.

Residents of the slums also have to pay a levy to the sect to be able to access communal toilets and for security during the night in the crime infested slums."

The recent violence erupted because local residents were fed up and fought back.

The activists killed in March were campaigning against extrajudicial killings of the Mungiki by the Kenyan police force. (Interestingly, five hours before the shootings, a government spokesman identified their organization as a front for the Mungiki.) A UN special rapporteur called for the dismissal of the police chief and the resignation of the Attorney-General.

But what do you do with a group of thugs without any regard for human life? Several Kenyans have told me extrajudicial killings are the only way. And "outsiders" like the UN and the U.S. only speak out when Mungiki members are killed. Where is the noise when the gang extorts, mutilates and beheads innocent Kenyans?

Considering how much there is to fear, to be angry about, I have a renewed appreciation for the warm smiles and persevering spirit of nearly every Kenyan I meet.