Police accused as 24 die in Kenyan clashes

At least 24 people were killed in fighting between Kenyan villagers and members of a banned sect, police said today.

The village near the central town of Karatina attacked members of the Mungiki group claiming they have been extorting money from them, said a police spokesman.

“What I know is that majority of the dead are Mungiki members,” he said.

Police have arrested 37 suspects and seized machetes, axes and clubs.

Officers urged the public to stop “using criminal violence to resist crime.”

Banned in 2002, Mungiki is known for beheading some of its victims. It claims to have two million members in central Kenya and the Rift Valley Provinces, and advocates a return to tribal traditions and customs. Most of its members are from Kenya’s largest tribe, the Kikuyu.

A Mungiki member said the group had been extorting money from businesspeople in the area with the full knowledge of the police until last week.

Police then switched sides and backed residents, who lynched members of Mungiki, the member said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. She did not say why the police turned against them.

A police spokesman said that Mungiki were, “trying to justify crime by mudslinging.”

“Nothing can justify crime from Munigiki and members of the public,” he said.