Njenga's wife to be buried

The wife of former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga and three other top officials of the sect will finally be buried on Saturday, after nearly two years of staying in the mortuary.

Mr Njenga who recently denounced the sect to embrace Christianity told reporters that he has raised Sh6 million which is enough to cater for mortuary fees and funeral arrangements.

“God is great because I have good friends who have assisted me to raise Sh6 million shillings for the mortuary fees and funeral expenses. The money is enough to cater for all the arrangements,” Mr Njenga told reporters at his Kitengela farm where friends and relatives had gathered to finalise the funeral arrangements.

Virginia Nyakio and her driver George Njoroge were abducted in Nairobi on April 8, 2008 but their bodies were found the following day in Gakoye forest, Gatundu.

They had panga cuts and appeared to have been tortured before they were killed, according to family members who at the time accused police of involvement in the killings, but Police Spokesman Erick Kiraithe later denied the claims.

No suspect has been prosecuted over the murder nearly two years later.

The two other people to be buried on Saturday include Charles Ndung’u who was acting chairman in Mr Njenga’s absence and then national Treasurer Naftali Irungu who were executed on April 28, 2008 as they drove to Naivasha to visit the leader who was in prison. Both are Mr Njenga’s in-laws.

All the four bodies have been lying at the mortuary and had accumulated a staggering bill of Sh5 million, according to the former sect leader.

He said his wife will be buried within his compound while the three others will be buried at his other farm, about a kilometer away.

“My wife and the other three relatives deserve a descent burial and that is what they are going to get, I have received overwhelming support,” Mr Njenga said.

Thousands of Mungiki members and supporters are expected to attend the funeral.

Police said they will intensify security in Kitengela and parts of the city to ensure Mungiki members going for the burial do not cause mayhem.

A senior police officer said “we are on high alert; we have information that the burial will be used as a Mungiki gathering.”

“There will be tight security around that (Kitengela) area and around the city because there will be a lot of Mungiki going for that burial, we will not allow them to cause violence,” the officer added.

“He (Njenga) has notified us of the funeral and we are aware, but you see it is our mandate to provide security, therefore the burial will go on but we will be around to ensure it goes on peacefully.”