15 October, 2007
The victim of an attack by members of the Mungiki gang lies in a street in downtown Nairobi. Mungiki began as a secretive religious sect in Kenya in the 1980s, espousing a return to traditional values and a rejection of Western beliefs. Members are known for their trademark dreadlocks and rituals of tobacco sniffing. Banned in 2002, the sect appears to have evolved over the years into an underworld gang involved in murder, extreme violence, extortion and racketeering. Its activities are said to include demanding protection money from minibus taxi drivers and levying heavy fees for water and electricity supply in slum areas.
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