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| DP Rigathi Gachagua |
On Saturday, June 3, the government announced a consensus to follow Mau Mau combatants and their ancestors to develop a suitable registry and reparations plan.
The government claimed that despite having fought for their nation’s independence 60 years before, Mau Mau veterans lived in appalling circumstances.
Njogu Githinji, a representative of the Kikuyu Council of Elders, said that imposters posed as liberation warriors. Consequently, it became difficult for the government to implement its compensation plan.
“Mau Mau is a common nickname, yet there are not many of us. Githinji said at a news conference in Nyeri, “Not everyone who declares himself a Mau Mau is one.
On May 24, 2023, police officials brought former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga to the Nakuru Law Courts.
He questioned if all the organisations that were recognised as Mau Mau warriors in Nyeri County alone, which had a membership of more than 5,000 veterans, had fought for the freedom of their nation.
Wambui Mwangi, a curator at the Nyeri Museum, bemoaned the difficulty of telling the two groups apart at official gatherings.
They call themselves “Mau Mau.” Other sections within our organisation have resisted joining forces with each other, she said.
“The majority of these folks who identify as Mau Mau are false. They are veterans’ sons and daughters who advocate for the necessity of a census for the government to recognise and reward them.
President William Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, pledged to fight for the veterans’ rights as they requested reparations from the British and Kenyan governments.
Gachagua pleaded with Ruto on May 13 at the burial of Mukami Kimathi, a veteran of the Mau Mau and the spouse of Dedan Kimathi, in Nyandarua County, to work with the British authorities to permit the exhumation of Dedan Kimathi’s bones.
Mukami Kimathi had begged the administration to give his spouse a better send-off, he said.
“With all due respect, we beg you to pay attention to the cries of the elderly. These folks claim to know the location of Dedan Kimathi’s grave. Gachagua said, “If you agree, let them show us where the grave is so we can bury him better,” and Ruto said he would check into it.
The compensation scheme, however, is in jeopardy due to the growth of breakaway Mau Mau factions. Former Mungiki sect leaders Maina Njenga and Gachagua are exchanging shots and claiming to be the actual liberation warriors.
A day before Mukami Kimathi was buried, Njenga’s home was invaded. The former Mungiki leader, who had become a pastor, said that the government was conducting a witch hunt. However, he went to the burial alongside Raila Odinga, the head of Azimio La Umoja, who openly criticised Ruto and his deputy.
In response, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua pledged to deal with illegal groups, such as the Mungiki sect, which he said were on the rise.
Njenga was detained in May 2023, arraigned, and charged with 12 crimes, including six counts of participating in organised crime. These offences included being a member of an outlaw group.
Other accusations included having a gun and ammo. Njenga’s followers were outraged by the arrest and following charges; they set up camp outside the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) office on Kiambu Road and fought police in running skirmishes until order was restored.
Gachagua subsequently said that Uhuru Kenyatta was responsible for the sect’s resurgence.
What do you want for this nation? In this nation, you held the highest position. What more do you require? You are the wealthiest man in this nation, and you control the whole country, including us. What more could you possibly need? You instruct these kids to engage in combat with the cops and risk death. What type of treachery are you committing against them? Gachagua made a claim.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki promised to deal with anybody who spreads criminality, regardless of their standing or position, while speaking on the subject.
“I am unable to comment on whether there is evidence connecting the previous president to criminal activity. On May 31, 2023, Kindiki said, “I will answer as follows: everyone who is engaged in inciting crime, regardless of their standing in society, has a date with me and my police.”
Uhuru has not yet answered the accusations. However, he urged the government and his detractors to preach peace at his last public appearance at the Jubilee Party’s National Delegates Conference (NDC) at Ngong Racecourse.
He also claimed that unnamed high-ranking officials had raided his family’s Northlands City property and threatened to force him into retirement.
Speaking on May 22, 2023, at the Jubilee Party National Delegates Convention (NDC), was the former president, Uhuru Kenyatta.