 NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The death toll in street clashes in Kenya between police and members of an outlawed gang protesting the imprisonment of their leader has reached 13, a mortuary official said Tuesday.
A notorious criminal gang called the Mungiki protested Monday in Nairobi's slums and several other towns after their imprisoned leader's wife was found beheaded last week. Gang members also set up fiery roadblocks.
Throngs of commuters from the eastern parts of the capital city Tuesday to walk to work in the city center because the minivan taxis they normally use stayed off the roads.
The operators of minibus taxis, commonly referred to as matatus, pulled their vehicles off the road because they feared the gang would burn their vehicles as they had to some the previous day.
"It shows the might of the Mungiki. They are a parallel government, a mafia-like outfit," said Simon Kimutai, head of the Matatu Owners Association.
The violence was an unsettling reminder of Kenya's fragile peace after the country's deadly postelection crisis earlier this year.  Twelve bodies with gunshot wounds from the protests were brought to Nairobi's city mortuary, said an attendant who saw the bodies but did not want his name used because he is not authorized to speak to the media. A police official, who also did not want his name used, said a 13th person was fatally shot overnight in sweeps through the slums.
The violence started before dawn Monday in Nairobi's slums and several other towns. The Mungiki has vowed to take its fight nationwide unless the gang leader is released.
On Tuesday some commuters waited for over an hour in vain to get transport to work.
"I have been waiting for one hour and there is no one on the horizon. If there is one it is always full," said Stanley Kinsi as he restlessly looked toward the road to see if a vehicle was coming.  "We are afraid of Mungiki. They will harass us if we venture into their strongholds. They warned us," said William Kamau, a minibus driver.
The bloodshed, if it continues, poses a challenge to Kenya's new power-sharing government, which was formed amid growing international pressure after more than 1,000 people were killed in the wake of the disputed presidential election.
On Monday, gangsters exchanged gunfire with police just feet from makeshift tent camps where some of the country's 300,000 displaced are still living.
Members of the Mungiki, an outlawed sect linked to a string of beheadings, held protests in several cities across the country — including Nairobi's slums and the western town of Naivasha, which were scenes of some of the worst postelection violence in January and February.
The protesters demanded the release of their leader, Maina Njenga, from prison, and accused police of being behind the death of Njenga's wife and the gang's acting leader last week.
National police spokesman Eric Kiraithe denied any police involvement in the killings.
Mungiki emerged in the 1990s, inspired by the Mau Mau rebellion against colonial rule. The group is believed to have thousands of adherents, all drawn from the Kikuyu, Kenya's largest tribe. In recent years, Mungiki, whose name means "multitude" in the Kikuyu language, has been linked to extortion, murder and political violence.
The violence comes at a precarious time in Kenya. President Mwai Kibaki named opposition leader Raila Odinga as prime minister Sunday, implementing a long-awaited power-sharing deal aimed at resolving the country's political crisis. Observers said the Dec. 27 election was so flawed it is impossible to tell who won.
Associated Press writers Tom Odula and Malkhadir M. Muhumed contributed to this report. |