[allAfrica.com] 'Mungiki' And 'Privatisation' of Violence The Nation (Nairobi) OPINION January 11, 2003 Posted to the web January 10, 2003 By L. Muthoni Wanyeki Nairobi The election euphoria finally ended with the past week's violence in Nakuru. It appears to have been a revenge Mungiki attack on matatu (commuter taxi) touts and residents. The Kikuyu term Mungiki means "the multitude". And they murdered no less than 15 people. The regular police, the CID and the paramilitary General Service Unit have since been deployed to hunt down the suspects. Yet the official response to the tragedy has, to date, been indistinguishable from official responses in the past. The difference was only that, in the recent past, it was fairly obvious that Mungiki had the sanction, support and protection of at least some of those in power. The sensitivity with which the new Government will handle the tragedy thus remains to be seen. I use the term "sensitivity" deliberately. Mungiki's advent and acts have political and socio-economic roots. Handling the tragedy will, therefore, require far more than merely seeking justice for the families of those innocently and wantonly murdered. It will entail examining and addressing what political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi has called "privatisation of violence" during the Kenyatta and Moi regimes. Remedying the insecurity situation The urgency of redress cannot be over-emphasised. The national preoccupation with remedying the insecurity situation has been stated again and again. For example, during the countrywide consultations to develop a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), both urban and rural Kenyans named security as one of the key priorities the Government should target for spending to alleviate poverty and underdevelopment. What does Mungiki have to do with security? Those who live in urban middle and upper-income neighbourhoods may be forgiven for asking that question. For these neighbourhoods have long witnessed the effective privatisation of security services. And residents drive blithely from place to place, taking the omnipresence of electric fences, guards and security vans entirely for granted. And they expect - and get - a relatively speedy response from police in the event of crime. However, those of us who live in lower-income neighbourhoods know only too well what Mungiki has to do with security. Mungiki members credit the movement with restoring order and safety to matatu routes and to various lower-income neighbourhoods in exchange for protection money. Nairobi's Eastleigh, for example, is now divided into two sections - one controlled by Mungiki and the other by the Somali community. Just over three years ago, I did some work for Mr Ngunyi at his political- economic research institution. I was editing East African Alternatives, a bi- monthly journal of political-economic issues in the sub-region. Bandit economy One of the last issues we produced focused on privatisation of violence and its effects and the resulting "bandit economy". A writer colleague was assigned to research Mungiki for the issue. He came back astounded. First, in those days, it had nationalist and populist leanings, with muted class undertones. It drew its membership from the scores of unemployed and underemployed young men and women, both urban and rural. But it was predominantly Kikuyu. It advocated a return to traditional religion and spirituality, praying to Mwene-Nyaga or Ngai (the Gikuyu God), taking snuff and growing dreadlocks. It advocated a return to patriarchal definitions and interpretations of traditional religion and spirituality and a return to female genital mutilation. It sought solidarity with young men (and some women) from other communities as well, urging them to organise similar movements. The group thus offered a sense of communal identity and certainty for the few of us with any kind of disposable income. It backed up that offer with practical actions. It was then running communal farms upcountry. And it aligned itself with those it felt were similarly being victimised by the system. For example, its members apparently organised and fought alongside the rice farmers in Mwea during the almost weeklong clashes with the GSU. Second, Mungiki's organisation in the urban areas was not to be underestimated. Its leaders then conservatively estimated that it had over a million members. In its early days, it was structured much as a guerrilla movement, in cell formation. Today the police confirm it is organised into armed platoons. Obviously, it attracted the authorities' attention. Initially, attempts were made to ban the movement, which only sent it underground and strengthened it. But then its usefulness to the powers-that-be - already accustomed to commanding all kinds of militias - was recognised. It was co-opted and became Kanu's latest militia organisation. But political militias work only during politically expedient times. In the interim, they have to make money somewhere. Their exploits in doing so are tacitly sanctioned. And so we ended up with the Mungiki of today, which has essentially been allowed to assume a security role outside of any system of checks and balances. This is what has resulted in the murders in Nakuru. It is these socio-economic roots of Mungiki that the latest crackdown must examine to reduce the attractiveness of the group to its followers as well as its acceptance in the neighbourhoods where it has implanted itself. The new Government will need to keep its promises in the areas of youth employment and security, particularly in lower-income neighbourhoods. And it is this political genesis, this transformation of a genuine (if misinformed and sexist) youth movement into a youth militia that must be examined to end the kind of behaviour we witnessed at Nakuru. Our very lives depend on it. Ms Wanyeki is the Executive Director of the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)   =============================================================================   Copyright © 2002 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). =============================================================================