Kenya Stockholm Blog

We Are Not Mungiki

Okoiti, we have never met, but please let the world know the following before we are executed: Mr. Oguta, the Security Officer at the University of Nairobi, who snatched a flashdisk from Charles Odera (3rd Year Law) belonging to Mr. Ojijo (4th Year Law) on Friday afternoon, has called and given Mr. Nengo (a recently graduated Law student UoN) an ultimatum to hand over the computer harddisk belonging to Mr. Ojijo because “Watu wakubwa wanaitaka”.

Mr. Ojijo and five other students are in hidding fearing for their lives because they edited the raw materials on extrajudicial killings that Oscar Foundation presented to the UN. By doing this they are among the few living people who know exactly what is going on. They know even that material that was too sensitive to contain in the report that was handed over, and which could only be handed over to the proposed Truth Justice and Recociliation Commission or similar. So they have reason to fear for their lives, especially after the mother of one of them was visited in her home in Western Kenya by two unknown people on Friday morning asking after him since his phone had been off since the assassinations. Our innocent friends are in hiding with their phones off and fearing for their lives. A death threat coming from 0752646845 has been sent to all of them.

We are students at the UoN who have started an above board political movement called The Liberators. We want to demand new political leadership and a different political culture in the country. We plan to register it with the authorities. Among the many organisations we had approached for support to help get the movement off the ground was the Oscar Foundation (where the late Oscar and GPO worked). They responded enthiusiastically. The two thought our idea was good and agreed to support us. As we interacted, and as part of raising money for the movement, Oscar Foundation gave part-time work to some of us. That’s how some of us ended up working on the sensitive dossier.

Oscar Foundation was to sponsor a retreat in Limuru last Saturday but the two leaders were killed on Thursday before the event. Killing them outside the UoN has its very chilling symbolism for us.

At the Limuru retreat we were to plan to fan out from UoN to other universities and colleges around the country to create a national platform of students to demand political accountability. We feel 2012 will be too late and will belong to the same muggers of the nation who occupy both sides of the political divide if no people’s movements arises now to demand change in the way our politicians are ruining the country.

Interestingly, on Friday after the double murders, the VC, Prof. G. O. Magoha summoned some of our leaders and accused us of recruiting students to join Mungiki, and threatened us with expulsion. This is as outrageous as anything can be. We just want to see an accountable political culture in this country that has no room for Mungiki, rogue politicians, or any thugs for that matter.

Oscar had recently told some of us that he was planning to leave Oscar Foundation to GPO and move on to other things. Since he was Kikuyu and had easily been branded a Mungiki, he thought that leaving the foundation to GPO who did not come from Central Province would make it difficult for the authorities to frame the organisation a Mungiki front. Oscar was convinced that with him out of the picture the Mungiki tug would not hold, and the Oscar Foundation would go about its work without police harrassment.

Truth be told, Oscar was not Mungiki. He was not and always talked against them whenever it came up during our discussions. He juat wanted proper mechanism for identifying Mungiki to be put in place by the State, so that Mungiki does not become an excuse for killing others, be they oponents, rivals, etc. He also wanted then heard before they were condemned so that a solution could be found after the intelligence is perused. Oscar’s biggest fear was that the likes of Mungiki and Sabaot Land Defence Force would grow in strength by recruiting millions of desperate youth, join forces, and take over power if politicians let he country go to the dogs the way they are doing, as the people urged them on or watched on the sidelines.

The very fact that we are running for cover from State security structures should tell you how far down the ladder of civilisation this country has been brought by our rogue politicians. Is it any wonder that they and not us are the ones who hire the services of Mungiki and other gangs around the country to push thier wicked political agenda that bodes ill for this country? Who then is MUNGIKI?

John

March 11, 2009 - Posted by makozewe | News & Analysis