By PROF. GEORGE LUCHIRI WAJACKOYAH
Mungiki is a Kikuyu word that literally translates into many. By definition, Mungiki means multitudes. The imagination of this politico-religious group plays the images of the poor. Many of them understand jiggers’ infestation, peasantry and abject poverty, for they live it or have experienced it.
Members of this group, which is proscribed according to government records, trace their lineage, or allegiance to the Mau Mau freedom fighters. The Mungiki owe their existence to President Jomo Kenyatta, their politicization to President Daniel Moi, and their commercialization to President Mwai Kibaki. There are feelings among Mungiki that Kenyatta short-changed their forefathers, Moi retained Mungiki when he feared Uhuru Kenyatta could lose the 2002 polls to his baptismal godfather, Kibaki, while members of the Kibaki administration are alleged to have used Mungiki for retaliatory killings during 2008 post-election violence.
Mungiki, ideologically, though not with the same name, sprouted to protest Kenyatta leadership’s marginalization of freedom fighters. The late Josiah Mwangi Kariuki, JM, as he was popularly known, was sympathetic to this group, for he did not see how peace could be sustained with a handful of people living on millions of resources, against millions living on a handful. JM desired well for the entire nation; he was widely accepted and loved in Kenya and beyond our borders. He was a champion of the poor.
Some members of this group were learned and politically astute as well, which made the government of the day fearful. This gave birth to a clampdown in Bahati, Nakuru and its environs; frequent arrests, detention without trial of their leaders, and mass propaganda, such as the Mwakenya leaflets. Some of the leaflets were manufactured by the intelligence, to subdue the Kikuyu groundswell. The intelligence coerced some KANU youth wingers into informers, to gather information on the activities of this organization. Kikuyu young men caved to that pressure and fled to Thika, Murang’a and the outskirts of Nairobi – the literal expulsion of young males was quite telling.
In debilitating despair, the next cohort of Mungiki was born. This lot grew up knowing little hope. They lived in slums with neither government order nor interests. They regularly did lowly jobs, and that is where they regrouped and started taking oaths of allegiance. Fate had brought them together, and they felt a duty towards one another, each seeking to be a brother’s keeper. At this point politicians started organizing them into micro economic activities, such as manning Matatu terminals and providing security through vigilantes. As a testimony to their role, areas protected by Mungiki experienced lots of safety, until criminals blackmailed them, and opened the floodgates of police harassments and killings of sect members. This is how the third generation of the highly manipulated Mungiki came into being.
The third contemporaries of Mungiki have been widely seen as a terror gang. Much as there is little one can say as far as their actions go, we as a society, must be patient and tolerant. We must listen to what they are telling us. This group has been widely stage-managed by mindless businessmen and politicians. The government, too, has used double standards in handling them. To some extent, some politicians want to keep them desperate and hopeless, this way; they can be easy guns for hire. Case in point is the post-election violence retaliatory killings.
Understanding Mungiki will contribute to national security intelligence, and by extension, increased safety of all Kenyans. Sending police on extra-judicial killing missions is not only illegal, but also leads to loss of valuable information; – one wayward person transformed is worth a million like ones killed.
Mungiki, if well directed, and driven by the humble vision of its founders, can tip the scales in Central Kenya politics, and also alter the way politics is played in Kenya. If their organization and loyalty get a laser-focus on the issues of poverty and governance, the ahoi will easily pull the reigns from the athomi. Visionary leadership and values that control bitterness, and strive for justice while upholding fairness, is all it will take. It is out of this realization that Mungiki morphed from a sect to politico-religious group.
Ask yourself this question; why does the government let Mungiki hold public demonstrations, if it considers it a proscribed group? The government is a mixed bag reminiscent of a brigade up against itself. The day a true regime change comes to Kenya, there will be accountability, and during that time, just like judgment day, people will carry their crosses.
Having initiated dialogue with Mungiki leadership, I have learned that the Mungiki problem can be dealt with finality. It is also crystal clear that politicians have been using the young men for their personal good. Mandela dialogued with Inkhatsa Freedom Fighters who till then, like Mungiki, were branded criminals by the system and the media. The solution rests in dialogue, not wanton slaughter by the police. There can be no moral authority in a case where the police, who should be dissuading people from unwanted conduct, demonstrate the same vile acts.
Let us all cast our eyes into the distant past, to pre- birth of the republic; the depths of history. From it we will understand what happened to the Mau Mau and their descendants, especially why they were relocated to Bahati in Nakuru.
I have understood much of Mungiki because I have probed it. In the same train of oddity, I will ride around the world, meeting Kenyans and friends of Kenya. This year, I plan to travel the world on my – Meet Kenyans world tour – where I will listen to any Kenyan with suggestions on issues affecting daily lives. My journey starts in the United States in January and February, followed by a 10-day exploration of Europe in March.
Prof. George Luchiri Wajackoyah is a presidential aspirant in Kenya’s 2012 general elections. For more information about him, check out his official campaign web site: www.glw4president.com. You can also follow him on Facebook under George Luchiri Wajackoyah or Luchiri Wajackoyah for constant campaign updates. Reach him at George@glw4president.com