Four people were hacked to death and another two shot dead by police in Mathare slums on Monday night as the violence — that began on Sunday — escalated, writes Easy African Standard, Kenya.
The four who were hacked to death are believed to have met their fate at the hands of members of the outlawed Mungiki sect.
The other two were shot dead by police officers who moved in at dawn to quell the violence.
And hundreds of fearful residents deserted their shanty homes as two warring gangs appeared to take over the slum village and threaten their security.
But last evening, the Government dispatched the paramilitary General Service Unit to the area in a bid to check the violence.
The law enforcers moved to contain a repeat of the attacks last night, with Nairobi Provincial Commissioner Mr John Waweru imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the slum.
The Mathare gangs, suspected to belong to the outlawed Mungiki and Taliban, had taken control of areas deep in the slum where police dared not venture for the better part of the day.
The Nairobi Provincial Police Officer, Mr King’ori Mwangi, who led the operation, was at one time stoned and shouted down by angry youths, who said they did not want the police since they had not answered their distress calls the previous night.
Initial reports indicated that the attacks were carried out by Mungiki members in an area believed to be under the control of the rival Taliban gang.
Sources suspect the motive was to avenge Sunday’s attack in which the Taliban burnt houses in an area considered Mungiki territory.
– What can you do when houses are being burnt and people killed yet police cannot help? asked Mr Joseph Munyao, a father of four.
Most affected were young children and women, some of who said they did not have anywhere to go.
The helplessness of residents was evident when, despite the heavy presence of security officers, a fourth victim was killed early in the morning even as police watched from a distance.
The body of the man was later found lying in a pool of blood in a ditch with deep cuts in the head and neck.
Residents said the victim was among those who spoke on the skirmishes on Monday when Waweru visited the area.
There was trouble when police went to pick the body, with some of the gangs and residents shouting and throwing stones at them. The officers managed to remove the body after threatening to shoot the angry crowd.
The rivalry between the two gangs started at the weekend when Mungiki raided chang’aa-drinking dens and poured the intoxicant in an area where Taliban collect protection money.
The Taliban retaliated by burning houses in the latter’s jurisdiction on Sunday night. And the Mungiki yesterday morning struck again in Taliban areas with devastating results.
The two groups have imposed various illegal levies on residents. They include fees for security, use of toilets, sale of illicit brews and protection, illegally tapped electricity, water supply and others. Business people also pay levies to the gangs.
