• While Nyeri county commissioner David Kipkemei and Nyeri Governor Mutahi say the group is being used by some local politicians, Nyeri town MP insists that this is a ploy to prevent criticism.
• Governor Mutahi Kahiga said he will support the Kipkemei to fight the reemergence of the gang.
A section of Nyeri leaders has differed over claims of the re-emergence of the dreaded Mungiki sect.
While Nyeri county commissioner David Kipkemei and Nyeri Governor Mutahi say the group is being used by some local politicians, Nyeri town MP insists that this is a ploy to prevent criticism.
Kipkemei on Saturday warned local leaders against reviving the sect for their selfish interests.
He said there was enough intelligence about what leaders are planning and doing.
“And we will get hold of you regardless of who you are and the influence that you have. We cannot gamble with the lives of our people. We will not allow that,” he said.
But Ngunjiri said leaders loyal to Tanga tanga and Deputy President William Ruto were out to intimidate people criticising those engaged in premature 2022 campaigns.
“We are not going to eat politics every day. We have many other important things to do. We have so many problems to handle and to address,” he said.
Governor Mutahi Kahiga said he will support the Kipkemei to fight the reemergence of the gang.
“We do not want to take our children back there and so I am going to join you,” he said.
The governor said any leader who thinks they can bribe people’s children to engage in criminal activities will not be entertained.
“There is no individual who is more important than all the population of Nyeri. If we start such things, then we will not move forward as a county,” he said.
Kahiga and Kipkemei spoke at Kamukunji grounds in Nyeri during celebrations to mark 97th International Co-operative day (Ushirika day) on Saturday.
Wambugu told the Star that the Mungiki narrative has been started by the Tanga tanga politicians after they realised that the ground was shifting.
Wambugu was recently accused by three Nyeri town MCAs of using members of the outlawed group to cause chaos in a meeting attended by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri in Gatitu, Nyeri town.
“The public has realised that these MPs are fighting the president for their own selfish ambitions mainly to position themselves in the post-2022 government they believe will be formed by Ruto,” Wambugu said.
He accused politicians of labelling as Mungiki people who stand up to their premature campaigns.
“They hope to draw from the loathing we have for this illegal group to scare and intimidate people from telling them off when they speak politics at the wrong place,” he said.
He said if they are to succeed in selling this narrative across the region, then it would mean that they can continue disrespecting the President publicly without fear of public censure.
He said he had flagged the development and raised it with Paul Koinange, the chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Administration and National Security.
“It is something our committee needs to keep an eye on and be ready to act upon. If unchallenged the narrative that anyone who tells a politician off is a member of an illegal sect is extremely dangerous,” he said.
He said this will give rogue police and security officers’ carte blanch to harass and even kill poor Kikuyu youth on suspicion of something they cannot prove they are not.
(edited by O. Owino)