Gachagua Reiterates Gov’t Commitment To Crackdown Mungiki Sect Members
The Mt Kenya Times 
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- Kangema where a group of newly recruited youthful members including high school students had gathered to take the oath. They were armed with guns and crude weapons. In ensuing shootout, a number of members were killed by the police.
- Michuki had a few days earlier called on the parents and guardians to talk with their children. Tell your children not to join sect. For those who have joined, tell them to quit and denounce it.
- If you fail to heed this warning, a burial will be taking place in your village every week.
- I listened to Gachagua’s remarks a few days ago when he attended the burial of the mother of former Mathira MP Weru in Nyeri county.
Sometimes back a section of the mainstream media published an expose on the resurgence of dreaded Mungiki sect.
Before the dust settled, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua came out gun blazing. Mungiki is a proscribed sect. We are therefore sending a stern warning to the young people who were being recruited and lured to join the sect that they were doing this at their own peril.
We know disgruntled opposition politicians led by those from Mount Kenya region were behind this. When things go wrong, they will disown and abandon you.
The DP added: Kenya is not a lawlessness banana republic. We will not allow Mungiki to sprang back. The days of harassing and endangering the lives of fellow members of their community are long gone.
Kikuyus and Kenyans at large recall the gory and deadly things that they executed. The crimes ranged from murder, rape, enforced disappearance and assault.
The victims were those who defied paying ‘security’ and ‘protection’ fees.
When I heard Gachagua vowing that the government of President William Ruto will use all the means to nip in the bud the resurgence of Mungiki, my mind went back to the memory lane.
I recalled how the late John Michuki dealt with members of the sect. This was during the reign of President Mwai Kibaki when he served as Internal Security Minister.
He used all means at his disposal. In one of the incidents, the police raided a home in his constituency of Kangema where a group of newly recruited youthful members including high school students had gathered to take the oath. They were armed with guns and crude weapons. In ensuing shootout, a number of members were killed by the police.
Michuki had a few days earlier called on the parents and guardians to talk with their children. Tell your children not to join sect. For those who have joined, tell them to quit and denounce it.
If you fail to heed this warning, a burial will be taking place in your village every week.
I listened to Gachagua’s remarks a few days ago when he attended the burial of the mother of former Mathira MP Weru in Nyeri county.
Turning to the County police commander, he told him. I have received intelligence reports that Mungiki sect members were harassing people in this region.
Some business people were being forced to hire some youths to guard their shops and properties.
This does not augur well. It is tantamount to encouraging the formation of illegal organized youth outfits. Why is this happening? It is your duty to provide enough security to the people. So, please do your job.
Mungiki is an illegal organization and you know the position of the government on this matter. So, you have nothing to fear. Being a member of the sect is serious crime. The law is very clear on how to deal with them.
Gachagua’s remarks came hot on the heels of a statement issued a week earlier by a group of elected women leaders from Mount Kenya region.
The women decried and roundly denounced the resurgence of Mungiki.
We recall that the women bore the greatest brunt during the heydays of the sect’s activities.
They raided homes and forced women to part with the so called ‘protection’ fee. Those who failed to heed the call were raped, maimed and murdered.
The age of their victims would not matter. Some were elderly and others were of the age of their mothers.
The women leaders would therefore throw their full weight behind the President and DP.
Mungiki sect members were economic sabotuers. This is because they were reaping from where they did not sow. So, we fully support the crackdown. They should never be allowed to come back.
A section of Azimio leaders from Mount Kenya have been politicizing the DP’s anti-Mungiki sentiments.
They would want the Kikuyus to interpret this to mean he was putting the lives of the community youth in danger. The trigger happy police officers were likely to take advantage of his remarks to execute them. Therefore he did not believe in the unity of the Mountain. I disagree. Gachagua have been calling on security agencies to follow the due process of law.
I have also been following Gachagua’s footsteps. He has been in forefront of rallying leaders of the Mountain to come together and speak in one voice.
As leaders, we have a duty to unite our people behind a course that is designed to better and improve their livelihoods.
To achieve this, we must listen to them and document all the challenges they faced.
This will help us to come up with tangible solutions.
I recall a statement the DP made in the run up to the election of the members of East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA).
He stated that the time of politics is over. This is the time to work for our people and all Kenyans.
So it does not matter whether you are a member of the ruling Kenya Kwanza party or the opposition Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition.
Consequently, he successfully rallied the MPs from the Mount Kenya to back the candidature of former Kieni MP Kanini Kega.
During the campaigns Kanini was a staunch diehard of Azimio leader Raila Odinga.
You remember that Kanini used to insult me and attack me right, left and center.
I have no problem with him. That chapter is now closed. Kenyans made thier choices when they elected Dr William Ruto as the President and myself as the deputy President.
The DP would further assert. We have some young leaders with great and wonderful potential to steer this region to the greater heights of prosperity and success.
As the senior most leaders, I look forward to grooming and preparing them.
At a function in Meru, he said. I can see our good and gracious daughter is also here with us. This was in apparent reference to former Muranga woman representative Sabina Chege.
The DP also cited Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro. Since then, he has also been enjoying cordial relations with the Kenya Kwanza brigade in the Mountain.
He has remained focused and consistent. I heard him recently hitting out at those alleging that he had fallen out with Trade, Investment and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria.
There is no iota of truth. These stories are cooked and being peddled around by personalities who were over years been opposed to the unity of our region.
This is what I want to tell them. The mountain is united behind President William Ruto.
We all woke up and gave President William Ruto our votes. We were not coerced. We did this willingly.
As the leader of this region, I have heard you decrying the high cost of living. I want to assure you that President William Ruto is not sleeping. He is working day and night to tackle and surmount these challenges.
However, I humbly want you to bear this in mind. The pinch you are feeling is being felt globally.
Kenya has no control over the prices of fuels. The pump prices are being determined by the international market.
The cost has lately shoot up because of two main factors. One, the move by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase the cost of production.
Two, the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war.
Russia is known to be one of the leading oil producers and marketers. The sanctions imposed by Western powers have crippled thier exports.
As Gachagua rallies the Mountain, one thing is clear. As the second in command, he fully understands his constitutional mandate.
So far he has done very well in helping President Ruto to undertake and realize his national duties and goals.
Well, the DP’s critics had been trying to portray him as a tribalist. To me, this would amount to playing cheap and malicious politics.
They would not complain when the leaders of their communities hold similar caucuses.
Recently, the DP attended the burial of the freedom fighter, field marshal Ms Muthoni Kirima.
Ex-Mungiki Maina Njenga was also present and he rallied behind DP’s call for the unity of the Mountain.
Hon Gachagua, you are the senior most leaders in our region. I urge you to convene a meeting for all leaders from the mountain so that as a community we can chart our way forward.
But in his swift response, the DP stated it was too early to contemplate sitting down with him.
We know he is the face of violence in this country. I ask him to renounce it first. We want to see his true commitment to the course of peace and unity of our people.
The DP reaction was well understood.
During the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition led demonstrations, the Ex-Mungiki Leader had been identified as a key player. This is in terms of mobilizing hundreds of thousands of youths to participate in the demos.
Most of them were armed with machetes and other crude weapons.
Some media reports indicated that some were in possession of guns. The goons were associated with looting, destruction of properties and bloody confrontations that were witnessed.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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