“Rag-Tug” militia groups that control Kenya

1. Mungiki
2. Kalenjin Worriors
3. SDLF
4. Taliban
5. Chinkororo
6. Baghdad Boyz
7. Kamjesh
   

MUNGIKI

It is Kenya’s most feared militia whose operations are concentrated in the Mt. Kenya region of Central Province, Nairobi and parts of Rift Valley Province. Mungiki is reputed for its organized operations and fundamentalist believe in traditional “Kikuyu” religious lifestyle. They pray while facing Mt. Kenya, the perceived abode of Ngai, the Kikuyu Supreme Being. It divided into 3 major arms: Religious, Political and Military wings. In tune with the inevitable changes at the global arena, Mungiki is reported to be silently sponsoring some of its young members for higher studies in some socialist-leaning countries in Latin America as part of a strategic plan to acquire power.

Its men are reported to have a hand in the Naivasha and Nakuru killings in January this year at the height of the post-election violence. It took the intervention of the Kenyan military from the nearby Lanet barracks at the heart of Nakuru town to quell the unrest. Apart from its religious fanaticism, it is monied and controls huge chunks of land in major parts of Kenya. Mungiki is in-charge of nearly every bus terminal in Kenya where Matatu operators are forced to part with several hundreds each day as “protection fee”. Landlords in many middle and low-class estates are likewise but silently forced to finance the group.

The original members of the group were sons and daughters of Mau Mau group, freedom whose forefathers they claim were sidelined soon after independence by President Kenyatta regime. Mungik, which when translated means “a united people”, advocates for female circumcision and a return to Kikuyu traditional way of living.

Kalenjin Warriors

It is said to be community defense group along the conservative traditions of the Rift Valley-based community. Among the Kalenjins, military training forms an integral part of the graduated progress from childhood to adulthood. Young men in these ethnic groups, where tradition demands a strict respect of hierarchy and obedience to community’s elders, also undergo circumcision as a rite of passage. As a result, young Kalenjin men develop a sort of cohesion among persons of the same age group making it quite easy to mobilize during a call for action.

The weapons of choice for the Kalenjin warriors are spears, bows and poisoned arrows, machetes and clubs. Just as Mungiki, they are relatively organized and well funded by members of the Kalenjin political elite, some of who rose from rags to riches during the Moi (a Kalenjin from Tugen sub-tribe) regime.

Sabaot Land Defence Force

Known by its acronym, SLDF, the militia has been behind the long-drawn armed conflict in the highly-volatile Mt. Elgon District. It was formed by members of the Sabaot community with a view to fight against historical injustice over land allocation in the Chebyuk settlement scheme. The conflict mainly orbits around two main (Sabaot) clans - the majority Soy clan and the minority Ndorobo clan.

The SLDF is one of the few non-state groups in Kenya that possesses firearms. Unconfirmed reports suggest the group's arsenal includes automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, which are said to have made their way from neighboring Uganda and Southern Sudan.

Chinkororo

Chinkororo, outlawed in the 1990s, represents the armed wing of the Abagusii community, which is found in several districts in Nyanza Province. Traditionally, Chinkororo was a community defense force, guarding territory against cattle rustlers and other perceived "enemies". The group also undertook retaliatory attacks whenever there were raids in Kisii areas. Since the post-election violence, elements of the Chinkororo have engaged in clashes with Kalenjin warriors from the neighboring Sotik and Buret districts in the Rift Valley Province.

In the run-up to last year’s general election, the group was behind a spate of armed attacks against opposition candidates who were seen as serious challenger to then Road minister Simeon Nyachae’s dominance of Gussi politics. Machetes, spears, clubs, bows and arrows are some of the weapons used by the feared armed militia.

For the last two decades, Gusii politicians have taken advantage of their financial well-being to manipulate the militia with a view to tilt the balance against their opponents. With the exit of (larger-than-life) Nyachae, one of Kenya’s richest personality and Chinkororo’s chief financier, it remains to be seen how the group will continue with its operations.

National Republican Movement/Council

It came to the limelight two years ago after the police raided its military training ground in the coastal district of Kwale. Retired military officers from the region are said to be behind its operations whose ultimate goal is to overthrow the Kenyan Government. In June 2007, police launched a manhunt in the region for suspected members of an illegal group; however, charges against the group members were dropped after they had been held in remand prison for several months.

A brother of Cabinet minister Ali Chirau Mwakwere, who was the alleged ringleader of the group in Mulungunipa forest, is still at large. He is a former soldier said to have been sacked from the armed forces on disciplinary grounds.

Taliban

After Mungiki, the best-known urban armed group is the Taliban, predominantly Luo and active in Mathare, Huruma, Baba Dogo, Kariobangi North and Kariobangi South quarters of Nairobi's Eastlands district. Members communicate and identify themselves via a system of secret hand signals. Like Mungiki, the group runs extortion rackets, notably on public transport operators though today its influence has been almost entirely curtailed by their Mungiki rivals. Apart from Kibera and Mathare North terminus, the rest of bus stages in Nairobi City are in the hands of Mungiki.

Taliban has no membership oath or cells anywhere in the country, but it does have squads in various slum locations. Its leader is still in jail following the 2002 skirmishes with Mungiki over the control of public transport along Nairobi’s Juja Road.

Baghdad Boyz

Its main base is in Kisumu and it draws its membership from the Luo community. The vigilante is very active in Kibera, Kenya's largest slum.

When violence broke in Kisumu City and its environs on December 29^th 2007 following the disputed presidential election results, Baghdad Boyz led the looters who ravaged shops in the City centre. The looting inflicted huge lost to the towns economy, which experts have estimated to be in the region of Ksh6 billion apart from rendering many other young Kenyans jobless. The group works closely with another predominantly Luo militia, Kosovo Boyz, and known for its expertise in using sling stones.

Jeshi la Mzee a.k.a Kamjesh

Just like most of the Kenyan rug-tag armed groups, its operations are concentrated in slums, mainly Kangemi and Kawangware. The group is said to give indisputable loyalty to abrasive Westlands MP Fred Gumo. It is known to terrorize candidates during the run-up to general elections. Gumo has in the last two decades maintained his position as the group’s de facto leader and financier thus keeping a firm grip on the politics of Westlands constituency. The group’s membership is predominantly Luhya, Gumo’s tribe.

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