- President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza seems to be in a panic mode over Mr Njenga’s close friendship with ODM leader Raila Odinga and former president Uhuru Kenyatta. With the near collapse of the bipartisan talks between Odinga’s Azimio representatives and President Ruto’s team from Kenya Kwanza, the fear in Ruto’s KK administration is growing. It is now emerging that Mr Odinga is preparing his troops for mass protests again. This is after his team walked out of the committee meeting citing the lack of goodwill by their counterpart from Kenya Kwanza
- There is fear that should Raila Odinga call for mass protests and with Mr Njenga in the forefront, Kenyans could easily see the return of Mungiki. It is against such fears that officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Nakuru County have in the past week been hunting for Mr Njenga with the intent of questioning him, the alleged recovery of two firearms and rolls of bhang on his property was just a smokescreen, sources say
By The Weekly Vision
Police officers were yesterday forced to lob teargas canisters at the supporters of former ex-Mungiki leader Maina Njenga after he presented himself at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters in Nairobi. Mr Njenga was grilled by DCI detectives most of yesterday with sources saying he was being accused of having addressed a meeting at the Wanyororo area in Nakuru County on May 11, 2023, to “encourage support” for the outlawed criminal group, Mungiki.
Sources say President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza is in a panic mode over Mr Njenga’s close friendship with ODM leader Raila Odinga and former president Uhuru Kenyatta, and with the near collapse of the bipartisan talks between Odinga’s Azimio representatives and President Ruto’s team from Kenya Kwanza, the fear in Ruto’s KK administration is growing of what may happen next. It is now emerging that Mr Odinga is preparing his troops for mass protests again. This is after his team walked out of the committee meeting citing the lack of goodwill by their counterpart from Kenya Kwanza.
But as Mr Odinga prepares his supporters for street battles with security agencies, sources within his camp have revealed to The Weekly Vision how the former leader of the Mungiki movement, a mafia-like militia group that is known for its violent past is said to be regrouping. The former group leader Maina Njenga is a close ally of Raila Odinga and former President Uhuru Kenyatta. Mr Njenga is now on the radar of Kenya’s security agencies. There is fear that should Raila Odinga call for mass protests and with Mr Njenga in the forefront, Kenyans could easily see the return of Mungiki. It is against such fears that officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Nakuru County have in the past week been hunting for Mr Njenga with the intent of questioning him, the alleged recovery of two firearms and rolls of bhang on his property was just a smokescreen, sources say. To avoid arrest, Mr Njenga presented himself at the DCI offices in Nakuru for questioning and was set free by the courts.
The source added that Mr Njenga may use his influence among the youth to lobby them to participate in mass action. What is known though is that although Mungiki was declared an illegal organization by the government, most of its former members, who sources say took an oath, are still very loyal to Mr Njenga and his word remains law among the youthful adherents.
To show how influential Mr Njenga is when he was introduced by Raila Odinga during the burial of the late Mama Mukami Kimathi, the crowd cheered widely as he waved to the mourners. The heroic welcome he received is said to have sent cold shivers down the spine of Kenya Kwanza leaders who thought he was a finished man whose political wings had been clipped.
The question that remains on the lips of many Kenyans is why of all the Azimio top leadership Mr Odinga chose to be accompanied by Maina Njenga to the burial. It was not by a coincidence but by choice and it was to send signals to Kenya Kwanza that Mr Njenga is still in active politics and with Mungiki solidly behind him. It’s Njenga’s influences among the youth that is worrying the Kenya Kwanza administration and more so his closeness to Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta. Analysts say that should Mr Odinga call for another round of mass action in the company of Maina Njenga and his multitude of followers, it could be the mother of demonstrations.
The fear is that the government knows that even though Mungiki was outlawed, the membership is still intact and they have not denounced the secret oaths they took. Azimio now feels that Mr Njenga is being targeted after the DCI deployed a special team of detectives that allegedly found three rounds of 9mm blank ammunition hidden in one of the rooms in his house. Further, when Mr Njenga left the DCI offices for questioning, a huge crowd which had accompanied him broke into wild cheers confirming his influence among them.
