EASTLEIGH "MATHREE" BURNT BY MUNGIKI GANG....What is next ?

A matatu plying Eastleigh route was burnt by men suspected to be followers of the outlawed Mungiki sect in the latest attack along Juja Road in Nairobi. Police and witnesses said four men, armed with pistols had boarded the matatu from the city centre posing as passengers but later started to demand money from the crew. The demands degenerated into an argument as the thugs demanded ‘protection’ fee. At Mlango Kubwa area the men demanded that the vehicle stops for them to alight. One of the men reportedly ordered the passengers out before he poured petrol inside and set the matatu on fire. The gang escaped on foot to the near-by Mlango...

The Tuesday night incident caused panic in the area with businesses closing down in fear of being attacked as word spread that Mungiki had invaded the locality.

Kasarani OCPD Jasper Ombati said the thugs were definitely Mungiki followers. The attack was the latest targeting matatus in the city to scare the operators to pay protection fees to the Mungiki. Ten matatus have been burnt since February in attacks blamed on Mungiki. A special squad is on the ground pursuing the attackers of the Eastleigh matatu.

Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe urged matatu operators to help police hunt down the thugs.

Meanwhile, a man believed to have stabbed to death an Administration Police officer was on Tuesday evening shot dead in Majengo slums and a pistol recovered from him. The man is accused of stabbing to death an AP outside a mosque in the area a month ago.

As this is happening, The Police Commissioner has been summoned to court to explain the continued solitary confinement of Mungiki sect leader Maina Njenga. Police have also been accused of using excessive force to contain Mungiki gang which has killed over 25 kenyans the previous month in Kirinyaga.

High Court judge Mohammed Warsame on Wednesday directed either the Commissioner of Police, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali or the Director of the Criminal Investigations Department to explain why Mr Njenga, alias John Maina Kamunya, has been held incommunicado for the last eight days. Mr Justice Warsame also ordered lawyers Paul Muite and Kibe Mungai to be allowed to see the suspect and that family members visit him.

The judge was ruling on an application filed by Mr Muite to see Mr Njenga. “The graver the offence the greater the need for legal advice,” Mr Muite told Mr Justice Warsame in arguing the case to visit his client. “Public good demands that one be allowed to communicate with his relatives and lawyers,” Justice Warsame said.