Mungiki: Kenya's growing crisis

“We recently arrested one of them in Nanyuki, brought him here and put him to death. That should serve as a message to all of them.”

Snatch wives

Stories abound of how the Mungiki would snatch wives from their husbands, then turn on the same husbands and callously demand a fee for the “services tendered”.

“They would call us and order us to prepare supper for them, and when they came, they would eat to their fill then rape our wives in our presence,” a resident said.

And due to the trauma and stigma, no man would ever speak of such a humiliation.

Mr Rugut said it became hard for police to deal with such cases because no complainants were forthcoming.

“All that the police would do was to arrest the suspects and charge them with minor offences like touting. They would be fined Sh500 and released the following day,” he says.

In the meantime, the vigilante operation goes on.