Nairobi — Is Mungiki a cultural group, a terror gang for hire or a group of organised extortionists?

University of Nairobi sociology lecturer, Mr Ken Ouko, says Mungiki is a product of unemployment and poverty, but which has been helped to thrive by crooked businessmen in the public transport sector. "Matatu owners are to blame because they entertained Mungiki," said Ouko.

The latest round of killings by Mungiki was first reported in Banana, Kiambu, after matatu owners refused to pay Mungiki an increased fee of Sh200 per day per vehicle.

Mungiki first emerged as a cultural group whose ideals were supported by some Members of Parliament. "They complained about the adulteration of Kikuyu culture and wanted the youth to learn the original Kikuyu values," said an MP from Nakuru.

The MP was among those hosted by Mungiki adherents in Limuru a few years ago, during a tobacco snuffing and oathing ceremony.

And Pentecostal Church leaders said Mungiki was a form of organised crime, whose aim is to replace the Government.

Ouko agrees that the group first projected itself as quasi-cultural and this could be the reason leaders from Central Province embraced it. At the time, it had distinct leadership, with Maina Njenga as its spiritual leader and Ndura Waruinge as co-ordinator. Njenga operated from behind the scenes.

The sect catapulted Waruinge to the national limelight. The group later started deploying members, mostly unemployed youth, to matatu termini where they levied charges on public service vehicles. They operated on specific routes within the city, Central Province and parts of Rift Valley.

The former Kanu Government appeared to have largely ignored Mungiki despite its frequent clashes with touts in Kawangware and Nakuru. But now opposition MPs are blaming the Government of being behind it.

In the lead-up to the November 2005 referendum, hundreds of armed Mungiki youths poured into the streets of Nairobi, in a charged demonstration in support of the Government.

"The Government knows who Mungiki is because they have in the past used them in campaigns," said Westlands MP, Fred Gumo.

He says it's the reason the Government isolates Nairobi MPs who do not come from Central Province whenever Mungiki is being discussed.

"They supported Uhuru's presidential bid in 2002. In the referendum, they were openly allowed to hold rallies attended by influential politicians from Central Province," said the MP.

Supplying electricity

Mr Moses Mwangi, a Nairobi based psychologist, however thinks some people took advantage of the youth.

He says this was evident when Njenga shifted base to Nairobi and announced the formation of Kenya National Youth Alliance political party.

"The party was supposed to be for the youth and the unemployed, something that was sweet music to the youth," said Mwangi.

"Mungiki is a problem in my constituency and I was surprised when the Government left me out of a meeting meant to discuss the matter," said Kasarani MP, Mr William Omondi.

Having learnt that they could earn a living by providing security, Mungiki quickly moved to slums like Mathare, where they fought bloody turf wars with Baghdad Boys.

Dr Karuti Kanyinga, a political scientist, says Mungiki evolved when it migrated from rural areas to urban centres.

Today Mungiki is not only levying money for provision of security but also takes charge of public toilets. Reports from Mathare show they had started supplying electricity by forcing residents to switch to illegal installations at a fee.

"It is now difficult to know who is a member because they have no identity and leadership," said Ouko. But in Mathare, the gang has locational co-ordinators.

Kangaroo courts

It also has Kangaroo courts that settle disputes on rent and family. Besides the other levies, residents are forced to pay protection fees.

Those who drink late in Mathare are escorted to their houses at a fee. They also orchestrate muggings against those who refuse to co-operate.

So why has Mungiki been allowed to mutate into the monster that it is today?

Mr George Wanjau, a social worker, who has interacted with Mungiki followers, says it enjoyed support because many politicians believed it was to fight for interests of the people of Central Province.

Yet it is now over five years since the violence perpetrated by Mungiki started in parts of Central Province, and it is spreading. Leaflets in Nairobi by the so-called Mungiki Defence Council declared war on the police.

As violence spread, a shoe shiner in Othaya, Nyeri, was attacked by suspected Mungiki sect members who chopped off his fingers. The gang wanted to control trading centres so it could raise more money.

Today the group is taking on the Government despite warnings from the Minister for Internal Security, Mr John Michuki.

"We will clear them. You will not know their whereabouts but you will see them being buried," said Michuki.

An army in waiting

Ouko says Mungiki has resorted to beheading to scare the public. They are still demanding Sh40,000 for every new matatu and another Sh200 daily in Murang'a, the minister's backyard.

The Inter-Religious Council of Kenya is calling for a public inquiry into the allegations that police officers were deeply involved with the gang.

"A body independent of the police should investigate the lethargy of police and possible infiltration, complicity, or collusion of police or politicians," said the organisation's chairman, Al Haji Yusuf Murigu.

Police sources told The Standard that an officer who had infiltrated Mungiki, leading to the arrest of over 10 members, was sacked for alleged complicity.

Sociologists say Mungiki had resorted to brutal and murderous ways out of desperation and a feeling that they had nothing to lose since the Government had dismantled their extortionist rings. Ouko likened slum dwellers to an army in waiting.

"If you take war to the poor, desperate and agitated population, they could easily explode," said a colleague.

They said the gunning down of 40 people by police in Mathare could trigger more violence.