When male circumcision is performed on adolescents and young adults, it usually marks a transition from boyhood to manhood. In many traditional circumcision ceremonies, boys and men are educated about their responsibilities and duties as an adult member of the community.
However,Mungiki sect has been using the ceremonies surrounding circumcision as recruitment grounds for new members of the criminal gang.
Detectives are investigating the link between the just-concluded initiation period and the resurgence of the dreaded Mungiki sect in Central Kenya.Security agencies believe this is why there is a surge in its activities in Central Kenya.
Central Regional Commissioner Wilson Njega mentioned that they are trying to establish how the sect lures initiates.
According to Kikuyu culture, elders should preside over boys’ initiation but the culture has faded away allowing other groups, including the church, to take up the role.
The ceremony has been largely commercialized with groups charging between Ksh5,000 and Ksh8,000 to cater for the operation, accommodation and counselling sessions.
Parents who cannot afford the fees are forced to take their sons to local health centres for the procedure.
Police believe that due to the lack of proper guidelines the practice has become vulnerable to manipulation by criminal gangs.
“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,” Njenga told the Nation.
He added that groups offering the service will have to be vetted and monitored.
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