Ex-MP funded Mungiki' sect attacks, witness tells court

Former Nakuru Town MP David Manyara financed the massacre of 10 people by alleged members of the banned Mungiki sect, a witness said yesterday.

Police inspector Leonard Lutta said the politician also gave money to hire vehicles that transported the alleged killers.

He told Nakuru judge Muga Apondi that he received information from an informer that Mr Manyara had financed the group on January 4.

That night, he added, he went to Mr Manyara's house but did not find him.

The witness told the court that some of the politician's co-accused had incriminated him during police interrogation.

He was giving evidence in the trial of Mr Manyara and 13 suspected Mungiki members charged with the murder of 10 people on January 5 at Kimathi and Flamingo estates, Nakuru Town.

The witness said he had wanted to interrogate Mr Manyara over claims that he had funded Mungiki members.

Mr Lutta denied a suggestion by Mr Manyara's lawyer that he had conducted shoddy investigations since he was unable to tell the court the people Mr Manyara gave money.

The lawyer also pressed the witness to tell the court the registration numbers of the commuter taxis (matatus) that were allegedly hired to transport the Mungiki members to cause mayhem.

The witness told the court that he had received intelligence reports about an impending attack but had no information on the specific area or time.

Earlier, doctors who performed post-mortem examinations on the 10 victims gave horrid descriptions of the bodies.

Rift Valley pathologist Noah Kamidigo and Dr Paul Gachunga said the victims died of massive bleeding from injuries inflicted by machettes.

They said the small finger on the left hand of each body had been chopped off. The bodies also had deep cuts in the heads.

The hearing continues.