Mathira Massacre
Encyclopedia
The Mathira Massacre was a sequence of unanticipated stoning
s and hackings which occurred in Karatina
, Nyeri District
, Central Province
in Kenya
on 21 April 2009. At least twenty-nine people are known to have died and three others were injured after fighting was reported between residents of the town and alleged members of the illegal Mungiki
sect, described as Kenya's version of the Mafia
. Police said the majority of the victims were of Mungiki affiliation.
for one week but suddenly spread when the Mungiki launched an attack on a minibus (matatus), at a road block which had been set up in the Kagio
area. They were seeking revenge for the deaths of fellow sect members in Kirinyaga, an act which had initiated the violence in the first place. The minibus was owned by a local operator and because he was targeted, some people went to Karatina to confront his suspected assailants. The sect had been continually acquiring money which belonged to the town's populace and the residents resisted when they grew weary of it. Under threat of expulsion from the town by the Mungiki, they began to attack suspected members of the sect. The Mungiki resisted this attempt at vengeance by retaliating and engaging in open combat in local villages.
It is claimed that the massacre was planned and carried out in less than twelve hours. The attackers claim to have attended a burial in Kiangumara village and upon encountering local hostility were provoked into defending themselves. Members of the sect crawled one by one through nearby tea
bushes to hide in the forest before leaping out to attack. They claim to have had help from allies.
s were acquired by the police. Axes and clubs were also used. The streets were said to have been left covered in blood following the incident.
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
s and hackings which occurred in Karatina
Karatina
Karatina is a town in Central Province, Kenya. It hosts a municipal council and the headquarters of Mathira East district. Karatina municipality has a total population of 6,852, all classified as urban . Karatina municipality has six electoral wards, all falling in the Mathira Constituency...
, Nyeri District
Nyeri District
Nyeri District is a district in the Central Province of Kenya. Its headquarters is in Nyeri town. It has a population of 661,156 and an area of 3,356 km².The district is located on the southwest flank of Mount Kenya...
, Central Province
Central Province (Kenya)
Kenya's Central Province covers an area of 13,191 km² and is located to north of Nairobi and west of Mt. Kenya. The province had 4,383,743 inhabitants according to the 2009 census...
in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
on 21 April 2009. At least twenty-nine people are known to have died and three others were injured after fighting was reported between residents of the town and alleged members of the illegal Mungiki
Mungiki
Mungiki is a politico-religious group and a banned criminal organization in Kenya. The name means "A united people" or "multitude" in the Kikuyu language. The religion, which apparently originated in the late 1980s, is secretive and bears some similarity to mystery religions. Specifics of their...
sect, described as Kenya's version of the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
. Police said the majority of the victims were of Mungiki affiliation.
Background
The violence had been limited to the Kirinyaga DistrictKirinyaga District
Kirinyaga District is an administrative district in the Central Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Kerugoya. The district has a population of 457,105 and an area of 1,478 km² .The district has four constituencies:*Mwea Constituency...
for one week but suddenly spread when the Mungiki launched an attack on a minibus (matatus), at a road block which had been set up in the Kagio
Kagio
Kagio is a settlement in Kenya's Central Province....
area. They were seeking revenge for the deaths of fellow sect members in Kirinyaga, an act which had initiated the violence in the first place. The minibus was owned by a local operator and because he was targeted, some people went to Karatina to confront his suspected assailants. The sect had been continually acquiring money which belonged to the town's populace and the residents resisted when they grew weary of it. Under threat of expulsion from the town by the Mungiki, they began to attack suspected members of the sect. The Mungiki resisted this attempt at vengeance by retaliating and engaging in open combat in local villages.
It is claimed that the massacre was planned and carried out in less than twelve hours. The attackers claim to have attended a burial in Kiangumara village and upon encountering local hostility were provoked into defending themselves. Members of the sect crawled one by one through nearby tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
bushes to hide in the forest before leaping out to attack. They claim to have had help from allies.
Arrests
Police made attempts to calm the growing tensions. Thirty-seven people were taken into custody as a search got underway for others believed to have involved themselves in the incident. Items such as macheteMachete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
s were acquired by the police. Axes and clubs were also used. The streets were said to have been left covered in blood following the incident.