@Alicewangechi
A case in which 21 elderly suspects have been charged with being members of the outlawed Mungiki sect is a plot to kill gatherings among the Agikuyu people, lawyers have said.
The suspects are represented by lawyers Ndegwa Njiru, Jeremiah Kioni and Kinuthia Mwangi.
They told the court that there was a well-orchestrated plan to discourage the Agikuyu community from their culture by arresting those assembling anywhere across the Central region.
The case that was coming up before Murang'a senior principal magistrate Edwin Nyaga did not proceed after the prosecution asked for more time to consolidate its evidence.
The suspects were arrested on the eve of the New Year at Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga shrine which is believed to be the origin of the Agikuyu community in Kiharu constituency.
Clad in cultural attires, the suspects broke into traditional songs before the court session started, accompanied by elders who turned up in solidarity with them.
“If you look at the group of individuals appearing before you, the so-called Mungiki, some are as old as 90-years-old. The prosecution needs to be sympathetic to their plight,” Njiru told the magistrate.
“It has now almost become an abomination for a gathering of members of the Agikuyu community to appear anywhere in pursue of worship. The more we delay this case, the more we vilify and persecute them,” he added.
Similar cases, they said, are on-going at Makadara and Nyeri law courts saying the suspects are people who were rounded up and labelled Mungiki.
The magistrate scheduled a mention of the case on Wednesday for the prosecution to confirm its readiness for the hearing.
Speaking outside the law courts, Kioni said over 300 youths were arrested overnight at the beginning of the year and later released on bonds worth over Sh3 million cumulatively.
Their offence, Kioni said, was just assembling.
“Today, our mothers and sisters aged over 80 years are being charged with being Mungiki. This is a term that is being used against any group of locals that wants to come together, politically or even to pray.”
Kioni said political persecution is being carried out in the Central region aimed at discouraging residents from assembling as leaders fear political uprisings.
“Leaders are afraid that people will meet and say enough is enough. It will not take long before us in Central say enough, and when that happens, it does not matter if they come with guns.”
He said the government has crashed Kenyans’ hope and left them with no expectations.
“When parents decide to go pray for their children who can’t get jobs, they are told to press computers and make money,” Kioni added.
Kikuyu Council of Elders secretary James Nene said it’s unfortunate that the suspects were arrested in a shrine, one of the three gazetted by the National Museums of Kenya.
“They arrested the custodians who stay in the shrine and welcome visitors. They were arrested during an operation against the Mungiki. This has made it impossible for us to conduct cultural ceremonies,” Nene said.
Wambugu Nyamu, an elder, said police officers invaded their ancestral home under the instigation of the state, arresting elderly women while accusing them of being members of Mungiki.
He expressed disappointment with the local political leadership for failing to stand with the suspects despite knowing they were undertaking cultural prayers.
“We will not allow the government to intimidate us on the basis of our culture and we will not seek permission to do our cultural undertakings. You call yourselves sons of Mau Mau, you will meet the real sons of Mau Mau.”