Politicians summoned over Matungu killings

Residents of Matungu village in Kakamega on May 6, 2019 mourn the death of a family believed to have been killed by gang called 14 Brothers. PHOTO | ISAAC WALE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Two deadly gangs have turned villages in Matungu unto their killing fields, striking with impunity around midnight.

  • Residents have linked the killings to gangs calling themselves 42 and 14 brothers.
  • But local security officials refute the claims saying the criminal activities are not interlinked and neither are they coordinated by a gang.

Political leaders in Matungu constituency have been summoned by police to record statements over the recent killings in the area.

Two deadly gangs have turned villages in Matungu unto their killing fields, striking with impunity around midnight.

At least 13 people have been killed in the past month with scores nursing serious injuries.

The killings have been linked to gangs calling themselves 42 and 14 brothers.

KEY SUSPECT

According to police, seven suspects have been arrested in connection with the spate of murders, including a 34-year-old suspect believed to be the ring leader.

“We are investigating the sponsors of these killings,” Kakamega County Commissioner Abdulrizak Jaldesa said Friday

Bordering Bungoma County on the north, Mumias West constituency on the South, Busia County on the west and Navakholo constituency on the East, Matungu has been known to be a quiet place where people go about their daily activities freely.

But the recent spate of killings has sent shock waves in the area.

While residents maintain that the thugs perpetrating the heinous killings are members of a criminal gang going by the name '42 brothers’, local security officials refute the claims saying the criminal activities are not interlinked and neither are they coordinated by a gang.

Police say the killings are being investigated independently because some of the cases were linked to crimes of passion while others were retaliations of a group of criminals who murdered their leaders in March.

“We want to dismiss the narrative that the killings we are witnessing in Matungu are coordinated and that there is a gang that is terrorising residents.

"We are investigating the cases separately after we established that they are not interwoven,” Matungu Deputy County Commissioner Charles Charo said.