Gov't: 12 Killed, 38 Arrested in Kenya

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 07, 2003

Gov't: 12 Killed, 38 Arrested in Kenya

Police have arrested 38 people in a crackdown on a religious sect involved in fighting that left 12 dead in two central Kenyan towns, the new head of the country's internal security said Monday.

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Police have arrested 38 people in a crackdown on a religious sect involved in fighting that left 12 dead in two central Kenyan towns, the new head of the country's internal security said Monday.

National Security Minister Christopher Murungaru, who was sworn in Monday with the other members of President Mwai Kibaki's week-old government, said 12 people have been killed since Sunday when members of the outlawed Mungiki sect attacked minibus operators over control of bus stops in Nakuru, 84 miles northwest of Nairobi.

Mungiki members killed nine people, and police killed two sect members while trying to restore order, Murungaru said. A twelfth person was killed Monday when Mungiki members attacked minibus operators in Muranga, about 40 miles north of the capital.

However, a former Mungiki member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the sect, which was outlawed in March, no longer existed and the deaths were a result of fighting among the minibus operators in the two towns.

Minibuses known as matatus are the main form of public transport in Kenya. In the past year, Mungiki members have fought with minibus owners over control of bus stops in a number of Kenyan towns.

Mungiki is believed to have thousands of adherents, all drawn from the Kikuyu, Kenya's largest tribe. Members pray facing Mount Kenya, which the Kikuyu traditionally believed to be the home of their supreme deity.

Source: Agencies

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