Kenol violence: Politicians ferried, paid gangs to fight

Politicians from both Tangatanga and Kieleweke factions of Jubilee Party ferried youth from as far as Nairobi to Murang’a in anticipation of chaos during Deputy President William Ruto’s event only to find a ground that was waiting to explode.  

Intelligence and police sources have told the Nation that each of the rival groups knew there was possibility of violence but the stakes were too high that none of them was willing to back down.

Although the violence witnessed on Sunday initially appeared spontaneous, it was a long time coming. Murang’a, with its historical gang culture instigated by the Mungiki, has in recent months emerged as a chaos hotspot as the road to the 2022 polls becomes murkier by the day.

Just last week, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro was heckled off the microphone by mourners leading to the disruption of a burial of four family members who had died in an accident. Angry residents took issue with how Tangatanga and Kieleweke politics had deprived the deceased of their right to a decent send-off.

Since the war for the soul of the Jubilee Party began, Murang’a, which is in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s political backyard, is where the ugly face of this battle has been exposed the most.

With a thriving gang culture and high joblessness rate, sparking a physical confrontation in the county is very easy. Interestingly, it is emerging that none of the youths who were fighting and engaging police in running battles at Kenol on Sunday were from Murang’a.

Choreographed violence

They were all brought in from Nairobi and Thika to create the highly choreographed violence, which left two people dead. Police sources told the Nation that a governor, two woman reps and an MP from Mt Kenya sponsored the bus trips.

Also in the plan was a Jubilee lawmaker from the capital who footed the bills for the youthful gangs. And while it is still not known who sponsored the chaos, what we know so far is that the plan was to create protests similar to what happened during the DPs visit to Kisii last month.

There was even more reason for both political camps to mobilise youth gangs ahead of the DPs visit to Murang’a on Sunday, since the last time he was in the county on March 6, chaos erupted after Governor Mwangi Wa Iria stormed the meeting with a retinue of youths.

But on the other hand, local politicians opposed to DP attending an event in President Kenyatta’s political backyard also mobilised their own youths in an attempt to stop Tangatanga from its continuing onslaught in Mt Kenya.

One political group ferried youth from Wetethie and Kiandutu slums in neighbouring Thika while the other brought goons from Mwiki, Githurai, Kasarani, Kayole and Kibera.

Each one of them was promised between Sh500 and Sh1,000, detectives told the Nation. The first gang was to prevent the DP’s entourage from going past Kenol on the border between Murang’a and Kiambu counties.

The other was supposed to counter any attempt to scuttle the DPs safe passage into Murang’a or deal with anyone who tried to prevent the event from taking place. Three hotels, one in Maragua, another in Thika town and the third on Thika Road, were used by the rival factions to plan on how the youths would be mobilised.

The plans, which started as early as Wednesday, happened in tandem with preparations for Sunday’s event. Buses were then hired to ferry the youth to the scene with one arriving before the break of dawn. The second gang arrived at about 9am to waiting police who had stationed themselves at Kenol in the anticipation of chaos after having been briefed by the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

Despite presence of the police, the gang was so determined to cause chaos that, on arrival, it immediately lit tyres on the roads at Kenol.

Gang arrived

Police immediately swung into action but, as they were fighting those who had lit tyres, the first gang arrived sparking an all-out war. As expected, politicians from both sides of Jubilee yesterday traded accusations over who was responsible for the violence, with none of them accepting to take responsibility.

“Even if you are a mad man, how do would you disrupt your own meeting? How would you burn your house? This is just diversionary,” said Kiharu MP { Ndindi Nyoro who is an ally of Dr Ruto.

“There were only two leaders from Murang’a at that event, they probably stage-managed it,” Murang’a Woman Representative Sabina Chege who is an ally of President Uhuru Kenyatta, told a TV station. Mr Nyoro and Kandara MP Alice Wahome were summoned by the police.

This came as the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) summoned the officials of Neo Kenya Mpya Commuters Ltd and Joy Kenya Services to answer to allegations that their buses were hired to ferry goons.

Jubilee vice chairman David Murathe, during a TV interview on Sunday night, said the buses belonged Kirinyaga Woman Representative Purity Ngirici who is a DP ally. Yesterday, the flamboyant woman rep distanced her family from the transport business.

“I am not referring to anything below the belt but the tongue. I and my small nuclear family own no bus business,” tweeted Ms Ngirici.

The Nation on a visit to Kenol found the area calm and back to normal but with visible signs of tension.

Businesses which had closed for the whole of Sunday were open as residents stood in groups trying to come to terms with what had hit them.

Soot and burnt wires left by burning tyres still stood on the roads, a stark reminder of what happened when sanity gave way to violence on Sunday.

“I have never seen anything like this for all the years I have lived here. Everyone is very angry at what happened yesterday,” Moses Njihia, who runs a shop in the shopping centre said.

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