Mungiki, Crime, Violence, Poverty: What’s going on?
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What’s going on?
I remember a time in Kenya when you could drive at 2 a.m. in the morning from one part of the country to the next (without fear). Even when they were home invasions, people never used more than panga’s and if you didn’t fight, they’d leave you alone.
Something has changed….
Everyone has a different explanation…..
Can I blame Moi? I will. He destroyed the country and left a whole generation of young people with no hope. Those chickens are now coming home to roost.
What is happening?
It’s your country and I want you to tell me….
I think that the Mungiki problem should not be masked behind the shroud of unemployment. Yes, that is a problem, but it affects all of Kenya. the threat is immediate and the government should without doubt tackle it NOW. However, they should be careful because of both the political and religious aspects of Mingiki that they can’t ignore. Futhermore, acts of retaliation against groups such as Mungiki set a precedence for unwarranted arrests, which could be highly detrimental to any constructive solutions.
Three steps are you have fixed this problem.
1 – Killing a popo should be met with consiquences that are not justifable. Their should be the fear of god in you if you point a gun at a popo. Otherwise we are just sending out people to die. Once that president is set, then there will be more order in every town. Crooks will be trying to run away from police instead of engaging them.
2 – Helicopters with search lights, that can be anywhere in within 15 mins and will stay on the criminals. Once you engage police… they are on your back until you are cought. I think about 2-3 Helis should do it.
3 – Forensics and Foresic database… a finger print from a crime 15 years ago should be crossreferencable (if that is a word)
ama
Unemployment and poverty is not a Central Kenya/Kikuyu problem and is in any case, no excuse for beheadings and murder of any mwananchi. This is a criminal problem being committed by Mungiki and its funders should feel the full impact of the law.
You have all mentioned what the punishment should be, but you also have to look at the underlying causes of not just mungiki, but groups like the Sabaot Land Defense Force and other violent outbreaks that are occurring around the country.
Yes, arrest and punish the perpertrators, but if you still have a country where 60 -70% of the population are living in extreme poverty, these problems will keep cropping up.
Crime is a part of any society. Beheading and torture is different from theft and there is no way that it can be attributed to poverty. This stinks more of an organization whose main purpose is extracting “protection” money. Clasic mafia.
Crime has to be the root cause of many of Africa’s problems. You can’t have a stable society when 60 or 70% of the population can barely afford to eat.
Maybe some of their tactics are mafia like and maybe they are being funded by rich politicians, but the foot soldiers are unemployed men who, by virtue of the extreme poverty, will do just about anything for money.
I don’t understand why more middle class kenyans fail to grasp the effects of this grinding poverty. It is at the heart of all of Africa’s problems.
We have tried to assess this problem at kenyaimagine. I am sickened by the callous attitude towards the poor in Kenya. Mungiki is too big to be a criminal problem. Really, if Mungiki had wanted to cause mayhem then they would have, how many people are they supposed to have killed by now? 20? Are there not more Mungiki than policemen?
Please read Wanjiku Michui’s article, she tries to explain why Mungiki is so attractive.
Mungiki is made up of the kikuyu under-class, telling the kikuyu political thieves, not to expect carte blanche support from them simply because they are kikuyu.
I think what’s happening in Kenya is a generational shift. Young people are just fed up with the system.
All these old men need to go and take their backward, primitive, tribalistic leanings with them to their retirement homes.
hallo, we only have ourselves to blame, we leave in a so called democracy in kenya. but truelly is it , we have youngsters from the 80′s fleeing kenya till now . any excuse and an opportunity to leave the country.
what a waste of life for our motherland. and now we are beingh terrorised by a group of thugs calling themselves mungiki,
we have an elected goverment in power. what are they doing about it. The main priority of a goverment put in power by the citizens who elect it its to protect its citizens .
But what we are seing here is either a weak goverment or people not pulling up their socks to do their job right.
whats is the way forward in kenya . its obviousely not having an extreme group of thugs telling our elected democratic party what they want is it really!! my grand mother would be turning in her grave knowing how hard she fought for our fellow kenyans freedom and the way kenya seems to be moving backwards.
when we got independence, the white man asked our new president mzee jomo kenyatta. are you sure you will be able to handle kenya! ask youself should we have still been under colonial rule would our mother land had been a better place under the thumb of a white man.
The one common denominator of all groups all over the world claming that they are fighting injustices pepertrated aginst them by institutions and instruments shaped and given mandatory ruling power by the wider populace, is that they tend to have a clear-cut mission statement and a clear adversary. I am yet to see an amorphous group which can survive more than 20yrs before it implodes in itself. Mungiki claim to be fighting for equitable redistridution of wealth. But they go around killing poor people. What hypocrisy. I think Mungiki has reached the implosion stage and is slowly dying…kicks of the dying horse. They no longer instil fear any more, people around the country have risen against them, matatu crews in Kiambu et al. I support the current crack down on these bigots whole heartedly. Let the police thrash the living daylights out of these mutha*&%^! They can no longer use the reason that they are poor and thus are rising up… India has the large population of poor people but you can walk in their slums day or night without fear of being mugged. Tanzanians are poor… have theytaken up arms against their government? All conspiracy theories should be thrown out of the window. Kenyans, as a people, should only die due to natural casues which are beyond human help or comprehension and not in the hands of other Kenyans. If a Kenyan fells a brother, I believe they should meet the full force of JUSTICE and not the law since we know how our law can be easily convoluted. So, these illiterate snuff sniffing bastards should be wiped out. We could look around us and learn as to how other countries have dealt with such militant groups. Atleast the Land Sabaot dudes have a cause to speak of. I think. Mungiki? Thugs trying to be terrorists
blaming mungiki ia a worthless waste of time. Hopelessness and poverty and frustation are some of the few causes of crime in kenya………the sooner this is dealt with the better for all of us