Nairobi, Kenya - Forty people suspected to be members of the outlawed Mungiki sect were Monday arraigned in Makadara court, Nairobi and charged with taking an illegal oath.
The forty appeared before Makadara Principal Magistrate Elizabeth Ominde and denied the charge before they were released on bonds of 50 thousand shillings each and similar sureties with an option of cash bails of 30 thousand shillings each.
The 40 were arrested following a raid at a house under construction in Dandora estate on Sunday allegedly during an oathing ceremony.
Police intelligence sources indicated that the group had gathered to strategize on a planned demonstration over the whereabouts of the sect's spiritual leader Maina Njenga.
Maina is said to have been transferred from Naivasha prison to an unknown location, a fact that has unsettled the nerves of the outlawed sect members.
The operation coordinated by the BuruBuru police boss Kipkemoi Rop also netted an assortment of the sect paraphernalia.
The arrests come amid renewed mungiki sect activities with Thursdays' demonstration by the sect members paralyzing transport and businesses in several parts of the country.
Meanwhile at the chief magistrate' courts in Nairobi Josmaria Waiganjo Ngige and James Thuo Wakabu denied trafficking 480 kilogram of bhang with an estimated street value of 960 000 shillings.
The two are accused of trafficking the drug on March 6 2009 at Kajiado town in Rift Valley.
They are alleged to have been transporting the drug in a private vehicle when they were nabbed.
They were remanded at the Central police station as investigations continue.
At the same time a case in which former KCB managing director Terry Davidson is charged with irregular trading at the NSE failed to take off because the trial magistrate was not in court.
Davidson has denied irregularly trading with Uchumi Supermarket shares.
The case now proceeds for a full hearing tomorrow.
In December last year the Attorney General appointed a Special prosecutor to try the case where the former CEO has denied charges of insider trading.
Davidson was charged with using insider information to instruct Suntra Investment Bank to acquire for him 664,899 Uchumi shares on December 2, 2005