All the dead were hacked on the heads, and hands by machetes and axes and their genitals mutilated by over 500 assailants who swarmed into the area in a 45 minute operation. Mungiki left a trail of destruction in their wake, smashing window panes, doors and motor vehicle windscreens. They stormed bars and other business premises.
Mungiki leaders denied the sect participated in the orgy of violence and promised a detailed statement after consultations.
The Nairobi Provincial Police Officer (PPO), Geoffrey Muathe, who was accompanied by the Provincial Criminal Investigation Officer (PCIO), Gabriel Mutunga, confirmed that 20 bodies had been recovered. He said that police were still investigating the motive but added that it could be political or tribal. He said that Mungiki used a chant for a greeting and anyone who did not respond was hacked to death indiscriminately.
"The Commissioner of Police is appealing to residents of Nairobi in general and Kariobangi North in particular to co-operate with security forces to identify all those behind the disturbances so that they can be arrested and brought to justice."
From Rick Ross Institute for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Movements; story originally from the East African Standard, 2002.