Sun, 10 Feb 2008 02:39:36



I have been to Naivasha on two occasions to help evacuate some of my relatives who were victims of the violence that took place in Naivasha.

The first time, we did not get the gory details of what took place, and I bet, the press is afraid of bringing some of these planned murders, this slaughter in Naivasha to the fore.

We must have the courage to face the truth and confront the same, then talk of the healing process. If we gloss this under the carpet, we are doing nothing.

The Naivasha Massacre was planned in complicity with government agencies. The police were informed, and they only brought officers who were not armed to confront the murderous Mungiki team.

The DC was in the picture, as some of the politicians who had lost in general elections. They were well coordinated by donations from some current ministers and the pangas that they used were bought at Shamba Hardware in Naivasha town.

When the Mungiki were to strike on the 27th, the prison wardens came out and thwarted all their moves. They retreated so that orders could be made to bar the prison wardens from coming out in support of non-Kikuyus who were the target.

When they striked the second time, they were under police escort, and they killed Luos specifically on a systematic way. They torched their houses and chased them like rats in town.

When the Luos organized themselves to hit back, the police shot at the Luos instead. This went on for three days. Within this time, the Mungiki murderers were housed at Lake Side and Silver Hotels.

They used to come to town at 6 a.m., reign terror until 6 p.m. when they retreated to their hotels to brief their paymasters, chief among them the former MP.

The Naivasha Massacre of the Luo was well planned in a meeting attended by Uhuru Kenyatta, Chris Kirubi, Jimna Mbaru, George Muhoho, Jayne Kihara and others.

They were annoyed that it is the Luo who have made things elephant for them. They hence came up with a plan that hitting at the Luo would be the best thing.

They did not look at the fact that it is the Kalenjins who removed them mostly from Rift Valley. They thought that it was the Luo who made the Kalenjins do that.

The Red Cross, that has been acclaimed as the best relief support agencies, did not come to the aid of the IDPs at Naivasha Prisons for a whole 3 days, yet, they were in Burnt Forest and Eldoret within hours of the fracas breaking out.

It came out that the Red Cross, just like the government were partisan in addressing the problems. In the case of Naivasha, the Red Cross and the government were looking at it as a Luo affair, not a Kenyan affair.

This partisan approach to this massacre has exposed the Red Cross as a dishonest agency.

When Mungiki were brought in at Kabat cemetery from oath-taking, the police were very much in the picture. When they ransacked Kabati estate, the police looked helpless. When the people ran to Naivasha Prisons for safety, the police moved in on the road, armed and ready to shoot at anybody who dared come out of the prison.

They should have been engaging the Mungiki so that they could save our property, but they only escorted Mungiki on the macabre mission.

The world must know the truth. And it is this truth that will set us free.

Why were some Kikuyus hell bent on eliminating Luos from Naivasha, when it is a known fact that Luos never killed any Kikuyu in Nyanza?

Why were some Kikuyus in Naivasha cheering and telling our people that we wanted Majimbo, and now, we had to move out?

Why were the police under instructions to guard Mungiki, and to shoot at anyone who resisted from the houses of people were being burnt and whose people were being killed as they watched?

It is time to make clear marks, those who shout loudest about crimes against humanity are the main pay masters of the murderous Mungiki sect.

        - Odhiambo Oketch


Dear Readers,

While we cannot confirm all of Odhiambo's report--such as, who was or was not involved in orchestrating attacks on certain ethnic groups--we believe that it is mostly plausible.  We base this conviction on the facts.  These are:

(1) substantiated eyewitness accounts of Mungiki members who wore police uniforms and attacked people in Nakuru.

(2) the recent declarations issued by members of Mungiki to mainstream media journalists that they are, in fact, receiving funding from politicians and that they are in competition with other startup copycat groups that are vying for this same funding.

A thorough investigation into the roles that politicians and other inviduals have played in the ethnic violence needs to be carried out by an independent and reputable international (non-Kenyan or even East African) agency.

We, at Jaluo Press, are convinced that Mungiki is a Kibaki state-sponsored militia. Mungiki, we are convinced, is a cover used by the Kibaki government to carry out work that could be distasteful to western eyes, even to those that are so accustomed to looking the other way or that are now determined to do so. Mungiki allows the Kibaki government to hold on to the dissipating shred--that is, western recognition--of legitimacy even as it engages in murder against its citizenry, especially against those who pose a credible threat to this "legitimacy." 

If the Kenyan government is not involved in a plot to reduce the influence of the opposition through the physical elimination of its members and supporters, then how else, we must ask, can anyone explain the Kibaki government's unwillingness to allow an independent investigation into the murders of David Too and Mugabe Were?!  Again, arguments of sovereignty will carry no weight with the editors of this forum.  It is beyond dispute that the majority of Kenyans lack confidence in the Kibaki government.  Furthermore, we and, we believe, the majority of Kenyan do not recognize PNU as the Kenyan government nor Kibaki as the president of Kenya.  It is our understanding that, in a democracy, a president is elected by the majority of the people.  Kibaki was not and, therefore, is not. 

Since sovereignty is not an issue in Kenya, there is no reason why peacekeepers should not be deployed immediately, particularly in light of the information below...

We have received information to the effect that allegations that young Kikuyu men are receiving training in Uganda for a possible civil war in Kenya are likely true.  In light of this, we are particularly concerned about Luos, Luhyas, and other "opposition" tribes in Nyanza province. 

As always, this information is not meant to incite violence against any member of any ethnic group.  Since it seems that the mainstream (monopolized) media is, as usual, incapable of doing its job, we are forced to relay information that we believe is critical to public safety.  We sincerely hope that mainstream media will investigate the extent of the involvement of Museveni's government in the Kenyan post-election crisis.  However, if past experience is anything to go by, it is very unlikely that this will ever happen.  Aside from the odd investigative journalist, western mainstream media is much more comfortable with and interested in interviewing harmless downtrodden refugees than in preventing a full-scale civil war in Kenya.  Where Kenyans are concerned, western investigative journalism looks to be dead. 

In the meantime, we cannot and will not hold our breaths or our tongues.  We urge all of our readers to exercise caution and to stay alert at least until an agreement between ODM and PNU is reached. 

Again, we do not support or condone retaliatory or hate-driven violence and we support the prosecution of anyone from any ethnic group or political party who engages in ethnic violence.  We would like to reiterate that a peacekeeping force would benefit all Kenyans regardless of ethnicity. 

        Regards,
        Jaluo Press