Gunmen killed four people in Nairobi’s largest slum, raising fears of a possible raid by a dreaded sect blamed for a string of murders and beheadings, police said on Thursday.
Police commander Herbert Khaemba said the gunmen attacked Kibera slums, home to at least 800 000 people, and killed four after a botched robbery attempt on Wednesday at about 9pm local time.
”The gangsters robbed a man, who then shouted for help, but they immediately drew a pistol and shot him dead. When other people started shouting, they were also shot and killed,” Khaemba said.
Three wounded slum dwellers are being treated in the capital’s Kenyatta National Hospital.
Khaemba said police were probing whether the gunmen were members of the politically linked Mungiki gang that has been carrying out a grisly spate of murders and beheadings in recent months.
”We are investigating to establish that. But we conducted a massive operation last night [Wednesday] and arrested several suspects for questioning. We are yet to get the real culprits,” he said.
Early this month, police launched a crackdown in Nairobi’s Mathare slum and killed suspected Mungiki members, who have slain and beheaded at least 40 people in gang-related violence since March.
Kibera, a massive settlement south of the capital, was the scene of the 2002 deadly clashes that killed at least 20 people and led to the banning of the Mungiki.
Gangland killings and politically motivated crime have continued to surge ahead of general elections scheduled for the end of the year. — Sapa-AFP