Four men arrested in Mathare, Nairobi, while on an alleged retaliation mission to avenge the murder of their kin, are facing charges of incitement to violence contrary to section 96 of the Penal Code. They are Brian Mburu, Stephen Mbugua, Brian Njuguna and Joseph Nganga.

They were arrested on July 31, 2025, while allegedly leading a group that was about to attack area residents after accusing them of killing a man in Huruma in the area.

The four were picked up by police officers on July 31, in the Mathare North area of Ruaraka Sub-County within Nairobi, while jointly armed with pangas and knives.

“Without a lawful excuse, (you) uttered words “leo tutawaua, mumeua ndungu yetu lanzima mtatuona” which words implied that it was your desire as a team to kill for the revenge for one of your people, an act which was calculated to lead to violence,” reads the charges against them.

Their fifth accomplice, who had been released on police cash bail, failed to turn up in court, and a warrant against them was issued.

Officers from the Drive-Inn police station in Ruaraka were responding to distress calls from members of the public after a group led by seven men known to some of the residents raided the area.

The four and others at large had blocked a bridge connecting Mathare and Huruma, but police officers intercepted and arrested four of them before they carried out the anticipated retaliatory attack.

They were disarmed, and the weapons were recovered by the police before they were escorted to the station. The suspects denied the charges before Senior Resident Magistrate Stephany Bett of Makadara law courts. Bett released the suspects on a cash bail of Sh30,000.

The case will be mentioned on September 2 for a pretrial.