Kenya: Police arrested gang leader

(SomaliNet) A suspected leader of Kenyan gang blamed for a string of shootings and beheadings this year was arrested by police, family members said on Wednesday.

Njoroge Kamunya, who is in his mid-forties, was arrested on Tuesday at his home in Ongata Rongai, 20km outside the capital, by 10 officers from a special squad formed to combat the gang, known as the \"Mungiki\". Kamunya\'s cousin, who asked for anonymity for fear of police reprisals, said Kamunya was arrested in the presence of his wife and four children.

The gang is blamed for the deaths of 15 police officers between April and June and 27 civilians this year. Many were beheaded. Police spokesperson Eric Kiraithe refused to comment on Kamunya\'s arrest.
It was not immediately clear what charges police would bring against Kamunya. He has been on the run since April, when police issued an arrest warrant for him and two other men who have since been arrested.

Mungiki was once a quasi-political sect that drew thousands of unemployed youth from the Kikuyu community - Kenya\'s largest tribe.

Since its formation in the late 1980\'s, Mungiki - which means multitude in Kikuyu - has drawn its resources from extortion and operated openly. The government outlawed the sect in 2002 after its members beheaded 21 people in a Nairobi slum following a turf war with a rival group called the Taliban, which drew its members from the Luo community.

Kamunya\'s younger brother, 36-year-old Maina Njenga, was one of the founders of the sect but later publicly denounced it. He was jailed for five years in June for illegal gun possession and selling drugs.

Mungiki members promote traditional Kikuyu practices, including female genital mutilation and praying while facing Mount Kenya, the home of their supreme Deity.

In the past three months, police have cracked down on the gang, resulting in the deaths of at least 112 people. - Sapa-AP

Somali pirates free Danish vessel and crew
A Danish cargo ship and its crew that were hijacked by Somali pirates in June have been released after 83 days in captivity after a ransom was paid, the Danish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The MV Danica White was carrying building materials from Dubai to Kenya when it was seized off Somalia in the world\'s most dangerous waterway.

\"We have talked to the crew and they are feeling okay at this point,\" the Foreign Ministry\'s head of citizen services Lars Thuesen told a news conference.

\"It\'s been a terrible experience for the hostages, being held for more than 80 days not knowing what was going on.\"
Danish TV2 News reported security firm Protocols said it had paid ransom of $1.5-million for the release of the ship and crew.

The Foreign Ministry said the crew - a captain, a navigator, a first mate and two less experienced sailors - were in good health considering the circumstances but that they had been threatened by the armed pirates.

Andrew Mwangura, director of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, also told Reuters by telephone local residents had told him all the crew members were fine.

There had been fears the captives were running out of food and fresh water after the vessel\'s generator broke.

After being freed, the Danica White headed for Djibouti about three days away, escorted by the French corvette Blaison. The crew will fly from there to be reunited with their families.

Just days after the Danica was captured, a US Navy warship destroyed three small pirate boats being towed behind it, but was forced to abandon the chase after it entered Somali waters.

Three other foreign ships are still being held by Somali pirates, Thuesen said.

Such attacks have increased since a Somali Islamist movement that brought a semblance of order to the country for six months was ousted in January. Piracy remains a significant threat to sea trade and cost billions of dollars annually.