Tensions Return

A mob in Mathare North attacks a man they accuse of being Mungiki. © Anne Holmes

An overnight raid by police sparked a minor violent scene in Mathare North this morning. Sometime around 3 in the morning police entered a building by force and indescriminately arrested an estimated 80 persons, including women and children, over alleged default of payment on rent. The people living in the building were apparently IDP’s from the other side of Mathare who were living in an empty building.

Early in the morning, a bus which had taken a detour to avoid traffic on the main road was attacked by an angry mob in retaliation for the events in the night. They burned and took apart the bus over a period of several hours as crowds gathered around to watch. At one point a man with long dread locks appeared on the scene, just wanting to pass through, and the mob began to stone him and hit him with pangas, accusing him of being a member of the Mungiki sect. Chris Athana, a local journalist was able to save the man from lynching by pulling him to safety where police stood nearby. The Mungiki, descendants of the Mau Mau, used traditional to wear dread locks. This is no longer the case as it became clear many years ago that this was an identifying feature for the illegal sect which put their lives in danger.

ODM announced this afternoon that mass protests would take place next week if negotiations talks with Kofi Annan did not produce satisfactory results by Wednesday. It looks as though big trouble is on the horizon as talk of the PNU pulling out abounds, and rumors of militias forming around the country find their way onto the front page of the Nairobi Star.