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- Jan 30, 2008
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NGO bosses shot dead amid Mungiki sect mayhem
Riot police clear a bonfire along Mai MahiuNaivasha road lit by the outlawed Mungiki sect on Thursday
Updated 6 hr(s) 50 min(s) ago
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Two NGO officials were shot dead Thursday night hours after Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua accused their organisation of fundraising for Mungiki abroad in a day that was characterised by chaos by the sect members in various towns.
Oscar Foundation Executive Director Kamau Kingara and Programmes Co-ordinator Paul Oulu were killed at about 7.30pm as they drove on State House Road in Nairobi.
Earlier in the day, two people were lynched, public transport paralysed and business disrupted in parts of Nairobi, Central and Rift Valley during protests by Mungiki sect members.
In Thika, where two people were lynched, local OCPD Patrick Mwakio said the victims, who were demanding Sh200 from matatu operators and other businesses were burnt.
The two are suspected to be members of the outlawed sect.
Police said close to 20 people suspected to be followers of the sect were arrested in a major operation that was launched to counter the protests.
Kingara and Oulu met UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Killings Philip Alston last month and accused the security forces of rape, murder and torture in the fight against the militia in Mount Elgon District and central Kenya.
The bullets fired at their car, a Mercedes Benz, cut short Kingara and Oulus lives. Witnesses said Kingara was shot four times on the head and Oulu three times.
A night guard on his way to work was shot and injured but was treated and discharged. University of Nairobi students who rushed to the scene were repulsed by the assassins who shot in the air.
Sped off
They then jumped into their car and sped off towards the city centre.
At his weekly briefing earlier yesterday, Dr Mutua claimed that Oscar Foundation was behind the illegal demonstration.
"The illegal demo is planned by Mungiki, NGOs and The Oscar Foundation. The Government assures wananchi that security measures have been put in place to ensure they are not harassed," read the statement.
Police said close to 20 people suspected to be followers of the sect were arrested in a major operation that was launched to counter the protests.
The sect, emboldened by the recent report by Alston that indicted the police, had called out its members to protest the disappearance and killing of their own.
Public transport was paralysed in major towns including Nyeri, Nyahururu, Molo, Kirinyaga, Karatina, Othaya, Muranga and Embu, Nairobi, Nakuru, Naivasha, Limuru, Kikuyu and Thika as matatu crews withdrew from the routes fearing attacks.
Business was also disrupted in Kayole, Ruiru, Dagoretti and Kawangware in the city. In some areas, the protestors lit bonfires and blocked roads with stones for hours as they engaged police in running battles. Police only fired teargas canisters at the protesters to disperse them.
Along the busy Nairobi-Naivasha highway the sect followers hijacked five lorries and used them to block the busy road near Kikuyu area before escaping with the keys.
Trouble broke out when police arrived and fired in the air to disperse the rowdy youth. The officers were forced to divert vehicles and use one of the lanes to ease a jam.
The sect followers also blocked the busy Namanga-Nairobi road for hours as they lit bonfires in Kitengela, forcing public transport operators to withdraw as it happened in major estates in Nairobi.
Naivasha town was a no-go zone after Mungiki youths blocked roads and engaged police in running battles for the better part of the day. Most businesses in the town remained shut.
Energy Assistant Minister Charles Keter was among those caught up in the chaos that paralyzed business and transport in and around Naivasha town. Keters bodyguard was forced to fire in the air to scatter the more than 30 youths who had lit bon-fires at Kuwait trading centre.
Stop activities
The angry Belgut MP, who was heading to Olkaria for an official function, challenged the police to stop the youths from engaging in criminal activities.
Hundreds of commuters were stranded at the main Naivasha-Nakuru bus terminus and the Kinangop-Nairobi terminus for lack of transport. Women in Naivasha town wore skirts for fear of being undressed by Mungiki.
"I dont want to take chances as Mungiki members dont like trousers. I have thus worn a skirt," said a woman who declined to be named.
The sect followers said their protest was in support of the UN report on extra judicial killings that indicted the commissioner of police and Attorney General.
Relatives organised protests
Kingara had earlier in the day said the protests were organised for the relatives of those who had been killed by police in the last two years.
As the protests got underway, reports indicated that the sect leader Maina Njenga who is serving a seven-year jail term was moved from Kamiti Prison to a different prison.
A parliamentary committee investigating outlawed associations condemned the protests. The chairman, Mr Jeremiah Kioni, who is also Ndaragwa MP, condemned the sect.
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