News
Traders who fled after Mungiki threats return
Posted Thursday, April 23 2009 at 19:58
Traders who fled their Kirinyaga Central homes after Mungiki members threatened to kill them have started coming back. They left in a hurry and sought refuge in neighbouring districts while others hid in lodgings.
A trader who operates a shop in Kagumo Town said he closed his business and took off after a group approached him demanding Sh100,000 in protection fees. They threatened to behead him if he failed to pay in a week.
“I was so scared because I could not raise the required cash, so I packed my belongings and fled,” said the trader who sought anonymity for fear of being killed.
Brave villagers
He told the Nation on Thursday that he returned to the area when he learnt that villagers had taken the sect members head-on. “I never thought anyone can dare attack the sect members and survive. I’m thankful to the brave villagers who have made it possible for me to come back and reopen my business,” he added.
A butcher said he was attending to customers when the sect members came and waited until he closed his business for the day. “At first I thought they were customers but they later introduced themselves,” he said. They ordered him to give them Sh80,000 in three weeks, or else they would kill him. “I had to escape to save my life,” he said.
Had collapsed
He said by the time he returned to the area his business had collapsed. A third trader, who ran a bar, said she fled to Kirinyaga South District after the sect members threatened to rape her. “They told me that I should become their girlfriend or I die. They also ordered me to give them money every month. I could not stay there any more,” she said.
A cereals trader said the Mungiki adherents came to his shop claiming he was having an affair with the wife of one of them. They demanded Sh50,000 to settle the matter.
They promised to return to collect the money after an hour. He said he took off before they came back. Administration police officers continued combing the area in search of criminals who killed 28 people in Mathira.
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