The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Police in Kiambu’s Juja Subcounty have arrested 24 people during an operation targeting a suspected religious sect believed to be promoting Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
According to a report from Abba-Salama Police Post under Juja Farm Police Station, the raid was carried out on Saturday afternoon after authorities received reports about the group’s activities.
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Juja Subcounty Police Commander Bernard Ngungu said the sect had been under investigation for some time. “We were tracking an illegal sect conducting rituals inside a shrine in the area,” he explained.
Police believe the sect had recently relocated to Kalimoni in Juja and had been under surveillance following reports of suspicious practices. Officers moved in around 2:00 pm, arresting the suspected sect leader along with 15 men and eight women found at the shrine.
Several items believed to be linked to the sect’s activities were recovered, including cowrie shells, horns, a small sisal basket allegedly used in rituals, and about eight litres of a traditional brew suspected to be muratina. Scenes of Crime officers from Thika documented the site.
The suspects were taken to Kibii Police Station as police process the case ahead of their scheduled arraignment at Thika Law Courts on Monday, March 16, 2026. Police noted that tensions briefly rose as some suspects sang traditional war songs during their arrest.
Authorities said they are continuing investigations into the sect’s activities.
FGM remains a harmful practice in parts of the country despite being criminalized under Kenya’s 2011 Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act, which sets penalties for perpetrators, including medical staff, and established the Anti-FGM Board to enforce the law. International human rights law also condemns FGM as a violation of women’s rights, with some countries enforcing strict penalties, including life imprisonment for deaths related to the practice, and promoting alternative rites of passage.
Despite these laws and awareness campaigns, FGM continues in some communities, prompting authorities to step up interventions to curb the practice.
