Mathare slums under curfew
A temporary curfew has been slapped on Mathare slums, Nairobi, following an attack on residents on Saturday.
by DOMINIC WABALA
The curfew was declared after a group of youths, armed with pangas and rungus, stormed Kosovo area and robbed residents of their property before police arrived and restored order.
Officer commanding Kasarani police division, Mr Paul Ruto, ordered all Kosovo residents to be in their houses by 7pm or risk arrest.
Nairobi provincial police boss Njue Njagi and the officer in charge of operations, Mr Julius Ndegwa, ordered constant police patrols in the slum in which over 30 suspected Mungiki adherents have been killed in the last one week.
And yesterday, over 500 Kosovo residents marched to Muthaiga Police Station to protest against insecurity and requested the police to increase patrols in the area.
They said that they wanted to flush out families of Mungiki adherents who are still in the area and burn their houses.
The OCPD, however, urged them to respect the law and report the presence of sect members to security personnel.
In the nearby Huruma and Mathare slums’s Daraja Mbili area, residents recovered a human leg and head. Police took the body parts that were found along the Nairobi River to City Mortuary.
Police suspect that they belonged to one or more people believed to have been murdered by Mungiki followers.
And police are set to begin sorting out and charging suspects arrested during ‘Operation Kosovo’ in Mathare slums.
Over 200 suspects who were arrested three days ago are being held at Kasarani, Muthaiga and Pangani police stations.
Separately, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has asked the Government to respect people’s rights as it cracks down on the Mungiki sect.
Speaking in Mombasa, commission Vice-Chair Fatuma Ibrahim Ali said that despite merciless killings by suspected Mungiki sect members, the Government’s reaction should be governed by the rule of law.
“The Government should handle the crisis carefully,” she said. “It is aware of who is carrying out these heinous crimes and should not kill and harass innocent people in the slums while the perpetrators go scot-free.”
At the same time, a human rights organisation in Mombasa has criticised the Government’s approach in its fight against terrorism and ‘Mungikism’.
Rethink strategy
Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri) said although it supported the fight, it was disturbed by the cruelty with which law enforcing officers were treating suspects.
Programmes coordinator Mr Hussein Khalid said in a statement, yesterday that the Government should rethink its strategy and ensure that human rights of all the people were guaranteed.
In Nakuru, officials of the Kenya People’s Party (KPP) have called for the resignation of Internal Security minister John Michuki over handling of the Mungiki menace.
Branch chairman Abdul Noor said the Commissioner of Police, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, should also quit because of the killings, which have also affected the force.
They said Members of Parliament involved with the sect should be arrested and charged.
by DOMINIC WABALA
The curfew was declared after a group of youths, armed with pangas and rungus, stormed Kosovo area and robbed residents of their property before police arrived and restored order.
Officer commanding Kasarani police division, Mr Paul Ruto, ordered all Kosovo residents to be in their houses by 7pm or risk arrest.
Nairobi provincial police boss Njue Njagi and the officer in charge of operations, Mr Julius Ndegwa, ordered constant police patrols in the slum in which over 30 suspected Mungiki adherents have been killed in the last one week.
And yesterday, over 500 Kosovo residents marched to Muthaiga Police Station to protest against insecurity and requested the police to increase patrols in the area.
They said that they wanted to flush out families of Mungiki adherents who are still in the area and burn their houses.
The OCPD, however, urged them to respect the law and report the presence of sect members to security personnel.
In the nearby Huruma and Mathare slums’s Daraja Mbili area, residents recovered a human leg and head. Police took the body parts that were found along the Nairobi River to City Mortuary.
Police suspect that they belonged to one or more people believed to have been murdered by Mungiki followers.
And police are set to begin sorting out and charging suspects arrested during ‘Operation Kosovo’ in Mathare slums.
Over 200 suspects who were arrested three days ago are being held at Kasarani, Muthaiga and Pangani police stations.
Separately, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has asked the Government to respect people’s rights as it cracks down on the Mungiki sect.
Speaking in Mombasa, commission Vice-Chair Fatuma Ibrahim Ali said that despite merciless killings by suspected Mungiki sect members, the Government’s reaction should be governed by the rule of law.
“The Government should handle the crisis carefully,” she said. “It is aware of who is carrying out these heinous crimes and should not kill and harass innocent people in the slums while the perpetrators go scot-free.”
At the same time, a human rights organisation in Mombasa has criticised the Government’s approach in its fight against terrorism and ‘Mungikism’.
Rethink strategy
Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri) said although it supported the fight, it was disturbed by the cruelty with which law enforcing officers were treating suspects.
Programmes coordinator Mr Hussein Khalid said in a statement, yesterday that the Government should rethink its strategy and ensure that human rights of all the people were guaranteed.
In Nakuru, officials of the Kenya People’s Party (KPP) have called for the resignation of Internal Security minister John Michuki over handling of the Mungiki menace.
Branch chairman Abdul Noor said the Commissioner of Police, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, should also quit because of the killings, which have also affected the force.
They said Members of Parliament involved with the sect should be arrested and charged.
benundclaudia - 11. Jun, 12:04