Five people were killed in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, police said on Tuesday, in a widening crackdown on a criminal gang blamed for a horrifying spate of murders and beheadings.
The five were shot dead and two pistols recovered after carjacking and robbery incidents in the capital’s Ngong and Balozi suburbs overnight, police said.
”This is part of the continued war against crime in the city. We are not going to relent on the war that is targeting suspected Mungiki sect members and other members of other organised gangs,” police Commander Julius Ndegwa said.
Once a religious group of dreadlocked youths who embraced traditional rituals, the politically linked Mungiki sect has fractured into a gang that thrives on criminal activities, including extortion and murder.
The police crackdown, which comes in the run-up to general elections scheduled for the end of the year, has left at least 76 Mungiki members dead and seen more than 3 000 arrests nationwide.
Police killed eight members of the cult-like sect blamed for the murdering at least 41, including 12 beheadings since March, in Nairobi on Sunday.
The latest violence has set off an acrimonious debate, with critics accusing some politicians of exploiting the country’s jobless youth to spark unrest ahead of the elections. — Sapa-AFP