Circumcision ceremonies come seasonally to mark the transformation of child boys to adulthood, but did you know that the deadly gang group Mungiki is taking advantage of the ceremony to carry out recruitment for new members? Detectives are investigating the link between the just-concluded initiation period and the resurgence of the dreaded Mungiki sect in Central Kenya.
Security agencies say they believe the outlawed sect has been using the ceremonies surrounding circumcision as recruitment grounds, hence the sudden surge in its activities.
ccording to one of the local dailies, Central Regional Commissioner Wilson Njega confirmed that investigations are underway to establish how the sect has been luring initiates to join it.
“That is something we are already looking into because we believe it is a breeding ground for the group. We must know where these activities are taking place and by who,” Mr Njega said.
The investigations come as debate over who should conduct the rite intensified. Already, there is a sharp rift between elders and the church, with the elders accusing the church of turning the rite into a business issue.
According to Kikuyu culture, elders should preside over boys’ initiation, but after decades of westernisation, the culture has been slowly disregarded, allowing other groups, including the church, to take up the role.
Without clear guidance on who should preside over the ceremony, it has been largely commercialised.
Since circumcision is considered a mandatory rite of passage, parents choose where to take their sons. Groups usually charge between Sh5,000 and Sh8,000 to cater for the operation, accommodation and counselling sessions. Parents who cannot afford the fees take their sons to local health centres for the procedure.
It is due to this confusion that police believe that the practice has become vulnerable to manipulation by criminal gangs.
Traditionally, youth in older age sets would counsel the initiates under the supervision of elders. But criminal outfits have been using this unwritten rule to recruit initiates under their care into gangs and crime.
“It is what the initiates are taught during the healing process that we are concerned about. It is easy to recruit them during this period,” Mr Njega said.
He added that groups offering the service will have to be vetted and monitored.