Police arrest 24 members of suspected sect in FGM operation in Juja, Kiambu

Police in Juja Subcounty, Kiambu county, arrested 24 people following an operation targeting a suspected religious sect operating within the area.

The group was advocating, among others, the Female Genital Mutilation, police said.

According to a police report from Abba-Salama Police Post under Juja Farm Police Station, the operation was conducted on Saturday afternoon after officials alerted authorities about the presence of the group.

Juja Subcounty Police Commander Bernard Ngungu said his officers had been investigating the group for some time.

“There was a case we were investigating involving an illegal sect which was conducting its activities inside a shrine behind this area,” Ngungu said.

Police believe the sect recently relocated to Kalimoni in Juja and had been under surveillance by investigators following reports of suspicious practices.

Police officers moved to the location at around 2:00 pm and arrested the suspected sect leader. Fifteen men and eight women who were found at the shrine were also apprehended during the operation, police said.

Police said several items believed to be associated with the sect’s activities were recovered at the scene. 

These included cowrie shells, horns, a small sisal basket allegedly used during the group’s rituals, and other paraphernalia. 

Officers also seized about eight litres of a liquid suspected to be muratina, a traditional alcoholic brew.

The scene was documented by officers from the Scenes of Crime unit based in Thika.

All the suspects were later escorted to Kibii Police Station where they are being held as police process their case ahead of their arraignment at the Thika Law Courts on Monday, March 16, 2026.

Authorities said the situation briefly became tense as some of the suspects turned rowdy and began singing traditional war songs during the arrest.

Police said they are investigating the group’s activities for further action.

The trend, which is still popular in the area and some places is harmful practice involving partial or total removal of female genitalia, with Kenya's 2011 Act being a strong example, criminalizing perpetrators (including medical staff) and those who aid it, setting penalties like imprisonment, and establishing oversight bodies like the Anti-FGM Board to enforce these laws, though enforcement faces challenges due to deep-rooted cultural norms.

International human rights law also provides a basis for eliminating FGM, recognizing it as a violation of women's rights, with many nations adopting legislation to comply. 

The law outlines severe penalties, including life imprisonment for FGM-related deaths, while promoting public awareness and alternative rites of passage to foster cultural change. 

Despite the severe punishment set, the practice is still rampant in many places. Authorities have increased campaigns against the practice in many places in the country as part of ways of address the same.