National Security Minister, Dr. Chris Murungaru, yesterday said the Mungiki sect does not exist.
Murungaru said the Government has wiped out the sect and those responsible for the Kayole terror were "common criminals."
"We have dealt with Mungiki. They are over and dealt with. The terrorists in Kayole are organised criminals using the name of Mungiki to spread fear and terror among Kenyans," said Murungaru.
He was speaking after opening the Public Service Integrity Implementation Programme. He was flanked by Internal Security Permanent Secretary, Mr Dave Mwangi.
Murungaru termed those responsible for the Kayole terror as extortionists who are resisting Government move to instil sanity in the matatu industry.
"This is organised crime. They are normal criminals who are preying on the matatu industry. They are an extortion ring which we will destroy," said Murungaru.
Meanwhile, public officers who fail to perform will be sacked, Murungaru warned yesterday. He said every officer shall be held accountable for what they individually do or fail to do. "There would be no passing of the buck," he said.
He said all institutions must provide adequate, quality and cost effective service and avoid self serving tendencies.
He said the retention of any institution or individual will be pegged on their continued relevance and productivity.
The minister said the Government will place great responsibility on public service accounting officers. He said public service had been characterised by wastefulness, negligence, inefficiency, insensitivity, corruption and bad governance.
In its present state, the public service may not effectively deliver the Government pledges and meet people's aspirations, he said.
He told PSs and PCs to focus on the fight and prevention of corruption and restoration of integrity in pubic service.
"No meaningful gains in any sector can be achieved unless we eliminate corruption and then prevent it from recurring," he said.
He said public service values must guide the behaviour of public officers and assured the officers of the Government commitment to fighting corruption and achievement of zero tolerance to the vice.
Five people were seriously injured and three matatus burnt in Kayole in Nairobi yesterday by people believed to belong to the outlawed Mungiki sect.
One of the victims is in a coma while the others are in a serious condition.
The gang of over 50, armed with machetes and other crude weapons, attacked unsuspecting matatu crew in the vehicles at Kayole Estate's Corner Mbaya market at about 3:30 am.
They slashed two watchmen and three matatu drivers and touts they suspected persuaded their colleagues not to pay protection fees to the sect.
The suspected Mungiki people also petrol-bombed three matatus completely destroying them before fleeing.
The matatus, KAQ 002M, KAA 032X and KAK 830B, which were set ablaze, were taken to the Kayole Police Station.
Some of the matatus whose windscreens were smashed remained parked at the stage.
The injured were rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
Police, led by the Officer Commanding Buru Buru Police Division (OCPD), Mr Leo Nyongesa Ijora, and the DCIO Mr Henry Ondiek led an operation to crackdown on the sect members but there were no arrests.
Ijora said the detectives were pursuing crucial leads.
Reinforcements were called in from other stations within the city to maintain law and order in Kayole where tension remained high.
The attack was seen as a reaction against the matatu operators' decision not to pay any money to the sect members who were to be replaced by stage clerks yesterday.
Trouble started when the Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) chairman, Mr Dickson Mbugua, sent out a circular to all matatu and bus drivers on route 19/60 ordering them not to pay money to Mungiki.
Instead, with effect from April 28 (yesterday) the matatu operators would pay the money to stage clerks based at Nyando stage.
The circular reached Mungiki people and matatu operators but not the police to whom it was copied. A copy of the letter was found at the doorstep of the Officer Commanding Kayole Police Station's (OCS) office yesterday morning.
The MWA and the outlawed sect have been fighting for the control of matatu routes and stages.
In January, Mungiki people terrorised residents of two estates in Nakuru, killing 20 people and injuring 20 others.
Following the killings, police arrested nine suspects among them the former Nakuru Town MP David Manyara and arraigned them in court.
On February 5, some 200 Mungiki people visited terror on Dandora Estate in Nairobi and caused mayhem. They hacked two policemen to death before stopping several matatus and robbing passengers of cash and valuables.
They injured several others while police shot dead three Mungiki assailants.
Following the Nakuru incidents, the police sought to arrest the sect's co-ordinator, Mr Ndura Waruinge, who went underground.
Waruinge was arrested two weeks ago. He was arraigned on April 17 and was released on a Sh200,000 peace bond.
Yesterday's attack came after a two-month lull in attacks by Mungiki people.
Preliminary investigations yesterday revealed that some Mungiki leaders were seen in Kayole on Sunday afternoon and it is suspected that they had gone to arrange yesterday's attack.
Matatu owners in Kayole declined to put their vehicles on the route yesterday morning and commuters were forced to walk long distances to seek alternative means of transport to their places of work.
The matatus resumed operations at 11.00 am after security in the area was beefed up.
A bishop wants the government to tell Kenyans why a self-confessed Mungiki leader has not been arrested for making inflammatory remarks.
Eldoret Catholic Bishop Cornelius Korir called for the immediate arrest of the proscribed sect's leader Ndura Waruinge, saying his remarks were a threat to the country's security.
A day after he was released on a Sh200,000 peace bond, Mr Waruinge was on Saturday quoted by the media as demanding the registration of the organisation.
Mr Waruinge said he would meet National Security minister Chris Murungaru and President Kibaki to demand the registration of Mungiki.
He reportedly said unless the government gave jobs to Mungiki members, they were likely to continue engaging in criminal activities.
Conducting an Easter Sunday mass at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Eldoret, Bishop Korir asked why the sect leader was allowed to make inflammatory statements with impunity. "I am just asking a question: why did he (Waruinge) say that and he is still free?"
He asked the government not to take Mr Waruinge's remarks lightly, taking into account the many crimes the sect followers had been involved in. He recalled the January incident in Nakuru where they killed at least 20 people.
Bishop Korir, who is also the Kenya Episcopal Conference vice-chairman, said the Church would also question suspect deals by government officers "and that is why I am asking this question about the Mungiki leader".
He said as Christians hoped for life in heaven after death, it was their duty to ensure justice for all prevailed here on earth.
Nominated Eldoret councillor Kipkorir Menjo said he was disturbed by Mr Waruinge's sentiments.
He said Waruinge "appeared to be inciting his followers to break the law and should not still be free".
Mr Menjo said the outlawed sect leader's sentiments were likely to create the impression that Mungiki was above the law.
"If the police had no grounds of charging him when they arrested him, I am sure they now can charge him over incitement," Mr Menjo said.
Last week, the police asked the court to bond Mr Waruinge to keep peace for a year.
The leader of a banned sect has been released without charge after being captured by police in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Police said detectives had captured the leader of the Mungiki sect, Ndura Waruinge, when he emerged from his hide-out in the western part of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
But after a court appearance on Thursday morning, he was released without charge and bonded to keep the peace for a year.
The controversial movement, claiming to fight for traditional Kikuyu values, has been blamed for a series of violent incidents, including clashes over minibus routes in Nairobi and Nakuru.
The sect leader went underground three months ago after an incident in which more than 20 people where killed in Nakuru, west of Nairobi.
Intelligence
Nairobi police spokesman Kingori Mwangi said police intelligence led them to discover his whereabouts and they picked him up along with two others.
"We had information, we knew where he was and we waited for him and we were able to arrest him," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
He denied they had received a tip off.
Police say more than 50 people died last year in clashes involving the sect and owners of private minibuses, known as Matatus, in Nairobi alone.
The BBC's Gray Phombeah in Nairobi says that the sect is inspired by the bloody Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s against the British colonial rule.
He says thousands of young and poor Kenyans - mostly drawn from Kenya's largest tribe, the Kikuyu - have flocked to the sect whose doctrines are based on traditional practices.
Mungiki leader Ndura Waruinge was finally arrested and taken to court yesterday.
The outspoken sect boss, who has been hiding since January, fell into a police dragnet in the city centre on Tuesday.
He was rushed to the Nairobi law courts but was not charged. Officials said he will appear again in court this morning.
Mr Waruinge told the Nation that he drove into a CID trap on Ngong road on his way from his home.
"I was driving to the city in the evening when the officers intercepted me in three vehicles," he told journalists. After blocking Mr Waruinge's car, the officers took him to CID headquarters, where he was held until being taken to court.
Yesterday Mr Waruinge was escorted to court by three plain clothes policemen.
Wearing in a navy blue suit, a light blue shirt, a red tie and brown shoes, he walked into the Chief Magistrates court at exactly 3.15pm.
The courtroom was virtually empty as Chief Magistrate Aggrey Muchelule had concluded the day's proceedings about 15 minutes earlier.
Wananchi only noticed Mr Waruinge's presence because of the journalists following him.
He sat in the dock, looking composed and chatted incessantly with his lawyer, Mr Kanyiri Muriuki, and even made calls on his mobile phone.
Mr Waruinge said police had not disclosed the charges awaiting him.
After15 minutes, Mr Muchelule sent a message that he would hear the charges against Mr Waruinge this morning. Police then drove him away.
The government announced a crackdown on all Mungiki leaders and associates, following the January 5 brutal murder of at least 20 people by Nakuru sect members.
National security minister Chris Murungaru ordered police to shoot any member of the sect on sight.
But on January 14, Mr Waruinge spoke to the Nation while in hiding, daring police to execute the shoot-on-sight orders and warning that sect members would retaliate.
A week later, Mr Waruinge escaped arrest at Makuyu in Maragua District when detectives raided the home of his father in-law, Mr John Wanyoike in Mihang'o village.
Mr Waruinge jumped over a stone wall. His wife Muthoni, Mr Wanyoike and a relative, Mr Anthony Mwangi, were arrested. Muthoni has since been charged in a Murang'a court.
The crackdown was intensified in February when a police officer was murdered by members of the sect in Dandora, Nairobi and at least three others injured in the attacks.
Mungiki leaders have also been linked to a scandal involving 10 Army Land Rovers said to have been acquired by the sect for the election campaigns.
More than 700 Mungiki followers have surrendered following a state amnesty as the government maintained the hunt for the outlawed sect's coordinator Ndura Waruinge continues.
Internal Security Minister Chris Murungaru today said those who gave themselves up to the police had been bonded to keep the peace, and released back to the community.
Speaking in Nairobi, Dr Murungaru said: "The Government has given those who have surrendered a new lease of life by linking them with social welfare organisations, and NGOs to assist in their rehabilitation and subsequent reintegration into the community...
"This has worked very well and I must admit that Mungiki activities have been largely suppressed by now following the move..."
Last month, Mungiki thugs brutally killed two policemen in the sprawling Dandora estate in Nairobi, in an alleged retaliation after three members of the outlawed sect had earlier died in battle with the police.
The fighting was triggered by what Mungiki thought was police support for a rival militia attempting to take over the Dandora route, which is one of the most lucrative commuter taxi (matatu) routes in the city.
Dr Murunguru said following the arrest of the sect's spiritual leader a Mr Kimunya - who is the father of Mungiki chairman Njenga Maina - activities of the outlawed sect had "tremendously" been brought down.
Said he: "Mungiki appears to be a family affair and the arrest of the spiritual leader has brought down its activities..."
The minister added: "The genesis of Mungiki is as a result of socio-political reasons including the prevalent poverty that existed earlier. I therefore, continue to urge members of the sect to come out and reintegrate with the rest of the society and take advantage of the good prospects that now exist now in the country..."
Dr Murunguru said this while addressing journalists after launching an Aids organising committee during a ceremony held at a Nairobi hotel.
Mungiki, the minister saids, came about during the infamous tribal clashes in 1992.
"It was a kind of community militia where the Kikuyus were trying to protect themselves from perceived persecution by other communities and that is something we cannot ignore...
"However, the scenario has now changed and we would like to see members of the outlawed sect integrate with the rest of society..." he said.
Barely a week after Narc came into power, a deadly attack by armed raiders occurred in seven Nakuru estates during which at least 23 people died.
The attack was blamed on the Mungiki sect, ostensibly over control of bus and matatu [commuter] routes. But this explanation did not wash with many people. The attacks were too well co-ordinated to be the work of hoodlums. Furthermore, it emerged that the attackers may have been financed by politicians.
The matter is in court and there is little one can say. But certainly, this was no spontaneous outpouring of emotions by people whose source of livelihood was threatened. This was organised violence with a definite message for the Government.
What happened next underscores this contention. On January 17, a group of raiders descended on a village in Kuresoi constituency, Molo, killed one person, and wounded two others. The bandits, nicknamed Taliban, apparently targeting members of the Kikuyu community, torched 30 houses leading to the flight of 300 families.
Again, no credible reasons were given for the raid. As was the case with the Nakuru mayhem, politicians were linked to the violence which, luckily, did not involve much bloodshed. But though the Government was quick to claim that this was ordinary cattle-rustling, many did not believe it. Molo is primarily an agricultural country, and people do not kill and burn houses to steal a few head of cattle. We are waiting to hear what the Government has done besides arresting a couple of politicians.
It would be tempting to consign these two incidents to teething insecurity problems facing the Narc Government. However, it has emerged that a bunch of Kanu politicians from Rift Valley Province have decided that the best way to keep the Government on its toes is to engage Narc in sabre-rattling and arm-flexing.
Last weekend, 14 of them met, ostensibly to celebrate the election of a colleague, and came up with rather startling charge that the Narc Government was targeting Kalenjins in general for removal from top jobs.
One of them even went to the extent of giving veiled warning to non-Kalenjins living in the Rift Valley should the apparent mistreatment of Kalenjins continue. In fact, he proclaimed loudly that Kalenjins are not cowards - the kind of language last heard days before tribal clashes erupted in the Rift Valley in 1991 and 1996.
To suggest that there is a link between this verbal diarrhoea and the localised mayhem in Molo and Nakuru could be far-fetched, but one cannot rule out the probability. In any case, what was most annoying was the pomposity and sheer arrogance of the utterances. They smacked of the ignorance displayed by people living in a time-warp, harking back to the time when a small number of Kanu MPs could make all sorts of belligerent, and even treasonous, statements with total impunity.
Strong language this, but there is a reason for it. First, the composition of the crowd was intriguing. The vast majority are neophytes in politics. It could not be expected that such people would have the courage to revive the ogre of tribal violence on their own. So the feeling was that these MPs must have been talking at the behest of someone operating behind the scenes.
Secondly, if they were wise, some of the MPs should not open their mouths just yet. The day of reckoning is coming when they will have enough time to tell Kenyans why their names keep cropping up in all kinds of shady deals.
Thirdly, there is a general feeling that the insecurity in parts of Rift Valley was orchestrated with the aim of making the province ungovernable. Should that be the case, it would be a terrible miscalculation.
Fourthly, and most important to me, is that these so-called leaders are dragging in the name "Kalenjin" into their private torments. The answer about jobs was terse and to the point: Since the previous president filled most of the top ranks in the civil service, provincial administration, parastatals and in the disciplined forces with people from his immediate neighbourhood, the new Government has no choice but to make them give way to other people who might deliver. Most of those being replaced now didn't.
What annoys most is that these rookie politicians cannot accept the reality - that their days in power are gone, perhaps forever. No government guided by the tenets of democracy can target a whole community due to the sins of an elite few. These MPs should stop hiding behind the nebulous Kalenjin identity. As Prof George Saitoti once eloquently put it, everyone should bear his or her own cross. The Kalenjin as a community do not have a cross to bear.
Commuter taxi (matatu) crews on a city route yesterday boycotted operations to protest against harassment by Mungiki members.
The more than 50 route 18 public transporters accused the police of conniving with the illegal sect members to extort money from vehicles plying the Kayole-Gikomba route.
They claimed the gang used violence to force operators to pay the money.
"They have set up at least four 'toll stations' where each matatu is required to pay Sh200 daily in addition to Sh50 per trip," the route's spokesman, Mr Silas Rachuonyo, said.
Mr Rachuonyo claimed the police had failed to intervene despite numerous complaints from operators.
The owners, drivers and touts dismissed the Government's tough talk on the sect, saying known followers of the sect operated freely in the area with full knowledge of the police.
They said last week's directive by the provincial administration outlawing illegal groups from city routes had no effect as Mungiki members continued to control their route.
A driver, Mr Christopher Odieki, who spotted a bandaged face, claimed to have been assaulted by known Mungiki members demanding a "Valentine contribution" on Friday.
The operators claimed police in vehicle registration number A 409E visited three Mungiki goons daily to pick the day's "share" of collections.
They vowed not resume service until their complaints were addressed by the provincial traffic boss.
He claimed to have reported the matter to Buru Buru police division where officers told him to "go home and recover first."
The operators called on massive transfer of officers in the division claiming many were known to fraternise with Mungiki followers.
The police released alleged leaders of the gang without preferring charges every time operators and residents forced an arrest, the operators claimed.
"Since the officers in BuruBuru have been releasing suspects citing 'orders from above', we also need to talk to a higher authority and hopefully get a higher solution to our problem," driver Joshua Owaga said.
The High Court in Nakuru yesterday denied a Mungiki suspect bond with the judge saying the movement had subjected Kenyans to untold suffering and pain.
Justice Alnashir Visram denied Stephen Mwaura Karanja bond after Karanja had moved to the High Court seeking orders to have him released on bond pending hearing and determination of his case.
He had filed the suit under certificate of urgency through Karanja Mbugua and Company Advocates.
In his ruling, Visram said he could not help taking judicial notice of the mayhem allegedly created by the sect.
The state, however, through State Counsel Nicholas Mutuku did not object to Karanja's release on bond but said he deposit security in court.
An assistant chief was on Thursday evening shot dead by people suspected to be members of the out-lawed Mungiki sect in Maragwa District.
Innocent Njogu ,45, of Marai-ini sublocation was shot dead outside his homestead moments after he addressed a public baraza where he condemned the activities of the sect.
According to area residents the administrator had called on members of the public to volunteer information on the whereabouts of the sect members.
Central Province deputy police boss Mr Joseph Kitonyi, said the assistant chief was ambushed by two men who were armed with pistols on his way home at around 6pm.
He said the administrator was shot in the head at close range and died on the spot. His assailants immediately fled from the scene.
Three bullets were allegedly fired at the assistant chief but two missed their targets. Three spent cartridges were recovered at the scene.
According to other chiefs from the division, the slain administrator had helped apprehend several Mungiki sect members, but some who were set free are believed to be behind the tragic incident.
Meanwhile, a 60-year-old man whose son was shot dead by police yesterday accused police of a cover up.
Munyua M'Ibari whose 32-year-old son, Francis Mwenda, was gunned down by police on patrol on the night of November 17, 2001 in Timau Division has appealed to the Government to institute fresh investigations into the incident. Mwenda was shot two years ago in Meru after police mistook him for a robber.
M'Ibari said police had frustrated his efforts to have an inquest into the murder instituted. He displayed seven spent cartridges which he said he collected from the scene of murder.
He said police have been dismissing him on the ground that his son was a criminal an allegation he vehemently denies.
"I wrote a letter requesting the Attorney General to have an inquest opened on my sons killing. The AG's reply indicated that he had instructed the police to have the inquest instituted but two years down the line nothing has been done," he said.
Five Nairobi businesspeople suspected to be funding the outlawed Mungiki sect have been arrested.
Police also said six members of the gang have been gunned down since Wednesday's mayhem at Dandora, Nairobi, where two officers have been killed by the thugs.
Nairobi police chief Stephen Kimenchu announced yesterday that they were closing in on Mungiki leaders and would soon arrest them.
He said top on the police list are national coordinator Ndura Waruinge and chairman Maina Njenga, who have gone into hiding since last month's massacre of 20 people in Nakuru.
Mr Kimenchu said three more suspected Mungiki thugs were arrested as they tried to extort money from matatu operators at Dandora's Wamware stage, where a bus was reduced to a shell during Wednesday's Mungiki mayhem in the area.
He said yesterday's arrests brought to 148 the suspects being held in connection with Mungiki attacks that have rocked the country this year. They will appear in court soon.
"We expect to get more by the end of the week," said Mr Kimenchu. He clarified that the second policeman, a corporal, killed in Dandora was on sick leave during the attack.
He said the officer's body was found near a river in Dandora's Shiranga area. He was attached to Buruburu police station and was working at the Mowlem post near Dandora.
Mr Kimenchu said: "What I do not know is if the attack was related to personal disagreement with the attackers. However, I can assure you that the officer was not killed while on duty that time."
Five people suffered deep panga cuts and a G-3 rifle stolen from one of the murdered officers, Constable Edward Mwangi, who was attached to the Runda police post.
Mr Kimenchu was speaking at Central Police Station, where he received a van donated by the Nairobi Central Business District Association.
The vehicle was handed to Mr Kimenchu by NCBDA chairman Philip Khisia. It will be used in community policing.
Mr Kimenchu also said that an AK- 47 riffle snatched from police last month when prisoners escaped from a prison van has been recovered.
Five Nairobi businessmen suspected of funding the proscribed Mungiki sect have been arrested.
Police also announced they had obtained information that would enable them to arrest key Mungiki leaders who went into hiding after two days of violence in which armed sect members killed two policemen and injured several other people.
Nairobi police boss Stephen Kimenchu told the Press 148 people believed to be members of the proscribed sect had been arrested and would appear in court soon.
He further disclosed that police had so far gunned down six Mungiki members adding: "We expect to get more by the end of the week."
He said that the second policeman killed yesterday had been on sick leave contrary to earlier reports. He had been attached to Buruburu police station.
"What I do not know is if the attack was related to personal disagreement with the attackers. However, I can assure you that the officer was not killed while on duty that time," Mr Kimenchu said.
A second policeman was killed by Mungiki thugs in Dandora, Nairobi, it was revealed yesterday.
His body bearing deep machette cuts was found in a thicket, with three other bodies all bearing from gunshot wounds.
The three were members of the outlawed sect killed in the Wednesday battle with police in the estate, police said.
Their bodies were found as independent investigations by the Nation showed the fighting was triggered by what Mungiki thought was police support for a rival militia attempting to take over one of the most lucrative matatu (commuter taxi) routes in the city.
The Dandora route is believed to be worth up to Sh200,000 ($2,500) a day in levies from the operators.
Police yesterday announced an all-out war on Mungiki and arrested more than 100 suspects who included three women aged 18-20.
One of the policeman who died, named as Constable Edward Mwangi, attached to Runda police post, was hacked to death before his body was doused in petrol and then set ablaze in the chaos.
Police withheld the corporal's name until the next of kin were informed.
Five people who suffered deep machette cuts were last night fighting for their lives in hospital.
Nairobi provincial police boss Stephen Kimenchu said police were yet to recover a G3 rifle stolen from the murdered constable.
They have not established if the corporal was armed or if he had lost his gun to his killers.
Mr Kimenchu said the attack on the officers was unexpected and it had forced them to retreat when the first officer to be killed fell under a hail of machette blows.
Mr Kimenchu said among those held were three people suspected to have ferried the attackers to the estate. Their vehicles had been impounded, the police boss said.
"One of the prime suspects is the man whose picture appeared in the Press early this year who is giving police vital information about the organisation," Mr Kimenchu added.
He was captured on camera in Nairobi last month as Mungiki members declared war on the Government should it carry out its threat of rounding them all up after recent violence in Nakuru and Murang'a where they killed over 20 people.
Initial investigations, he said, had established that the movement was being bankrolled by influential people including tycoons.
He said during the Wednesday operation, police unearthed literature from the houses of some of the suspects which revealed the group was committed to an armed revolution.
"This is a group we have now established beyond any doubt that advocates a violent reformation and since they have killed two of our own, we shall stop at nothing to crush it," he said.
"Some have had friends in some high places but this now does not matter," Mr Kimenchu added.
He displayed some of the weapons recovered from Dandora which included axes, bows and arrows and machettes.
One of the placards seized by police read, "No reformation without conflict."
There were also copies of last year's calendars with pictures of the organisation's spiritual leader Mr Maina Njenga.
Mr Kimenchu announced measures he said would wipe out the group.
They included setting up an anti-Mungiki police squad which will be based at Kasarani and Buru Buru and all-day police patrols of the two areas.
"With immediate effect, no group will be allowed to man matatu termini in the area and vehicle operators have been instructed to ensure that only their drivers and touts will man their vehicles," he said.
Mr Kimenchu said this would help the anti-Mungiki squad identify those flouting the order.
But Mr Kimenchu was at pains to exonerate the police from allegations that the latest round of insecurity in Dandora was sparked by a new police-backed intelligence outfit.
The group, calling itself the Anti-Corruption Investigations Agency (ACIA), like the perennial rivals Mungiki and Kamjesh militias, wanted to take control of matatus operating on the lucrative Dandora route.
It had only operated for a few hours with the assistance of policemen in the collection of "protection fees" on the first day when chaos erupted, according to Nation investigations.
Mr Kimenchu denied his officers were being used by the ACIA to enforcing the collection of levies.
It was also established that some Mungiki leaders held an early morning meeting with a prominent local politician where it was planned and agreed that an attack must be executed on the members of the new group.
The new team notified the matatu operators and Mungiki followers on Monday that it intended to collect a levy from all matatus on the Dandora route.
The notice, dated February 4, states: "In our notice of 03.02.03, we brought to your attention some new developments touching on the management of all Dandora routes.
"We wish to notify you once again that ACIA has fully taken control of the routes. You are therefore advised to pay the route levies only to ACIA agents upon which you will be issued with an ACIA official sealed receipts.
"Payment point shall remain at Dandora Phase 1, and the fees charged would remain at Sh200 per matatu Nissan or matatu mini bus per day.
"By this notice we do appeal for your uncompromising support. We look forward to better working relations."
The Nation established that the new group, which claims to work with the National Security Intelligence Service in investigations, had printed the promised receipts complete with an E-mail address and telephone numbers.
The agency is on the fifth floor of Nacico Chambers, Moi Avenue, and is headed by one Martin Adung'o Adungosi as executive director.
Although Mr Adungosi gave his mobile telephone numbers they were said to belong to "field agents."
Mr Kimenchu who completed his Press conference without mentioning the ACIA group, later admitted he had warned the Buru Buru police boss Njue Njagi not to allow the group to operate before "the matter was deliberated on."
Mr Kimenchu said he had told the same to Mr Adungosi, who, however, "went ahead and started collecting the money on Wednesday."
Tension was high in the troubled estate yesterday, but security was tight to curb a resurgence of violence.
A spot check found policemen patrolling the area in groups of 10, armed with AK47 rifles and sub-machine guns.
Police patrolling Dandora and the neighbouring estates had been instructed to crackdown on all self-styled street gangs who have been pocketing as much as Sh200,000 a day.
The spokesman for the Police Anti-Corruption Unit, Mr Kaplich Barsito, disowned the ACIA saying there was no working relationship between them and the police.
He spoke out as Kanu condemned Mungiki but challenged the Government to wipe out the sect "it once protected."
Director of elections William Ruto said efforts by Kanu when in government to contain the sect was resisted by some MPs now in the Government.
"People in the Government are the very ones who supported Mungiki in Parliament when we were taking action against its activities," Mr Ruto told a news conference at Parliament buildings.
Assailants believed to belong to the outlawed Mungiki sect yesterday hacked a policeman to death and then burnt his body.
And the attackers also stopped a commuter bus, robbed the crew and passengers of money and mobile phones, then set the vehicle ablaze.
The scene of the grisly action was Nairobi's Dandora Estate where an estimated 200-strong Mungiki squad wreaked mid-morning mayhem.
The commuter bus was ferrying people from the densely-populated estate to the city centre.
The mid-morning act of terror left many people with gaping wounds caused by the crude weapons, including machetes, machetes and axes, that the attackers were wielding.
The dead police officer, according to a colleague, and three others were on patrol in the estate when the marauding youths ambushed them .
Realising that it was not possible to do battle with them, they decided to escape, but the victim was caught and hacked to death by the merciless assailants.
An eye witness said the youths descended on him, cutting him several times as he cried for mercy, but that fell on deaf ears. His head had several deep cuts.
After they had killed the policeman, the youths poured a liquid which was either paraffin or petrol on his body and set it on fire. They also took away his G-3 rifle.
By 3.00 pm yesterday, his charred remains were still lying by the roadside in Dandora Phase Four, the scene of the ghastly criminal act.
Next to the body was a machete and an axe used in the heinous murder.
After their bloodthirsty mission, the youths then moved towards Dandora Phase One which borders Kariobangi Light Industries, where they ordered a driver of a Bus Track bus registration number KAE 793T to stop.
They then ordered all passengers out and in the process robbed them of money, mobile phones and other valuables.
All the money which had been collected as fare by the conductor of the bus was also taken.
At this point the marauding youths met a few police officers who they overpowered and pushed back before reinforcements came and dispersed them.
The gang then moved through Dandora, causing havoc. They pelted any passing vehicles with stones, smashing their windows and windscreens.
Three of the youths, a witness said, were armed with pistols which they fired in the air occasionally and sometimes aimed them at passing vehicles.
Some of them donned deep blue sweaters like the ones used by police officers. For about an hour they went round the estate causing mayhem and spreading terror as they made eerie war cries.
The mid-morning attack disrupted transport to and from the estate and residents were forced to walk from the Kariobangi round-about to their houses.
Before the attack, some of the residents said, the suspected Mungiki adherents held a meeting in the neighbouring Korogocho Estate while others met at Maili Saba.
Fear gripped the area and most of the residents locked themselves inside their houses and left only when it was extremely necessary.
They could be seen peeping through their windows to have a glimpse of what was happening outside.
There was heavy police presence in the area and several suspects were rounded up and taken to Buru Buru Police Station.
An Isuzu Trooper, registration number KXW 462 suspected to have been used in the attack, was towed to the Buru Buru Police Station.
Some of the attackers were said to have been moving in Nissan vans.
Women in Kenya have held a demonstration in the western town of Eldoret.
They want the government to take strong action to protect them after a group of young men started assaulting women wearing trousers, stripping them naked.
Some 23 men were released on bail after being charged with assault and behaviour likely to breach the peace.
One of the affected women, Rachel Muzone Nganga, told the BBC Focus on Africa programme that women in Eldoret were scared to go outside.
"I felt so bad, I felt so humiliated," she said.
Nevertheless, she says that she will continue to wear trousers.
"It is my right," she said.
She said the men were members of the controversial Mungiki religious sect.
They say they want to uphold the traditional values of the Kikuyu ethnic group, and support female circumcision.
Waylaid
Vice President Michael Wamalwa has vehemently denied reports that he had ordered all women to stop wearing trousers.
A rumour to this effect had been circulating in Eldoret and had been another explanation for the assaults.
The men stationed themselves in different parts of town and waylaid unsuspecting women walking through the streets.
According to an eye witness, one woman was ambushed as she made her way into a supermarket, while another narrowly escaped after her attacker fell into a ditch and broke his leg.
The attacks, which begun on Friday night, forced many women to remain indoors while those going into town wore dresses or skirts.
The BBC's Wanyana Chebusiri says that last year, there were two such incidents of attacks on women wearing trousers.
Mungiki Movement (Kenya) Updates 2003
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