Nyeri on High Alert as Police Bar Maina Njenga’s Event, Launch Operation

In Nyeri town and its surrounding areas, the police have launched a significant crackdown on supporters of former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga.

Police officers in the areas have heightened their efforts to thwart a scheduled meeting chaired by Mr Njenga at Kabiru-ini grounds on Sunday, resulting in the apprehension and rough treatment of several individuals. Security measures have been implemented on all roads leading to Nyeri town, indicating a potential government directive to obstruct the event. Police personnel have been stationed on the Nyeri-Nairobi, Nyeri-Nyahururu, and Nyeri-Nanyuki highways, with additional patrols in residential areas.

Police have been stationed at Kabiru-ini grounds to intercept the initially intended assembly for Mt Kenya leaders. Officially deemed unlawful by the government, this meeting has been prohibited. Nyeri County Commissioner Pius Murugu has taken charge, issuing a directive to ban the gathering. Mr Murugu has also instructed the National Government Administration Officers (NGAO) and local community elders to maintain their vigilance and ensure that Mr Maina and his supporters are unable to assemble in any way.

On Sunday, Muthoga Kirethi, the chairman of the Nyeri branch of the Kikuyu Council of Elders, informed the media that the meeting had been postponed and would take place at a later date. Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, hailing from Nyeri, recently expressed his worries about the re-emergence of the prohibited Mungiki sect in his hometown, leading to a ban on their operations. Gachagua proclaimed that the government would take decisive action to halt any illegal activities associated with the Mungiki group.

Gachagua disclosed that a band of misbehaving youngsters had started troubling traders at bus terminals and malls, coercively extorting illicit levies. At the funeral of Mercy Wairimu Kinyua, KLRO chairman Peter Weru Kinyua’s mother, Gachagua urged the county police commander to carry out his obligation of safeguarding the populace and their possessions. Stressing the significance of maintaining legal principles, Gachagua affirmed that individuals should not reside in fear within their own nation, where laws exist and a functional administration operates.