VOA标准英语2009年-'Assassination' of Kenyan Gang Spokesman C

By Alan Boswell
Nairobi
09 November 2009

A Kenyan human rights body is calling for an investigation¹ into the killing² of the spokesman of a major Kenyan gang, saying the leader told the group a few weeks prior that his life was in danger from a government hit squad³. Human rights groups have heavily criticized the nation's police for engaging in large-scale extra-judicial killings⁴ in its effort to crack down on the banned Mungiki sect⁵.

 
Members of the Mungiki gang in a bullet-riddled car in outskirts⁶ of Nairobi, Kenya, 28 Apr 2008
The deputy head of the Kenya National Human Rights Commission, Hassan Omar Hassan, said that Njuguna Gitau informed the group last month he feared for his life.

"Gitau came to our office, and it is recorded here, that he came to the office to come and look for some of us on Friday the 16th of October 2009. He told me he wanted to give me certain 4-1-1 [information]. And I told him, 'What is that 4-1-1 about?' He said his life was under threat," Hassan said.

The parliament-created human rights body termed the killing an "assassination⁷."

The Mungiki is an organized band of youths from Kenya's largest and most powerful tribe, the Kikuyu. The group, known for its criminal activities and extortion schemes, was founded with a call for its members to return to a form of mystic Kikuyu spirituality and to reject Western cultural influences.

Defenders⁸ of the group say the youth movement was founded as a means to express discontent with economic marginalization, but that the quick cash from the extortions transformed the poor youths into a criminal organization, which was then exploited by senior politicians.

Gitau was also head of the group's political wing, the Kenya National Youth Alliance, which the spokesman recently announced was being turned into an official cross-ethnic political party.

Omar claimed that the senior Mungiki member said that he was being trailed by a police squad known as the Kwekwe, mandated⁹ with neutralizing¹⁰ the gang. The police claim that the Kwekwe was disbanded earlier this year.

Gitau was shot in downtown Nairobi on Thursday by unidentified assailants. No one has been arrested for his death despite the fact that it happened in public view.

Omar said the commission would launch its own investigation.

"As a commission we again call for a credible¹¹ investigation. But we will also proceed to see whether we can document the circumstances of his death. The best way right now for accountability is documentation. There might be a leadership that might not want to act on it, but I think the statute¹² of limitation is such that there is no time limit for some of the most heinous¹³ crimes including murder," he said.

The human rights group had earlier accused the police of secretly killing up to 500 suspected Mungiki members during its 2007 crackdown on the group.

The murder of Gitau comes just weeks after the Mungiki's head leader, Maina Njenga, was released from custody¹⁴ after reportedly issuing a one-week ultimatum¹⁵ in which he threatened to name senior politicians who have supported the group.

In a bizarre public demonstration¹⁶, the released leader then declared himself a born-again Christian¹⁷ and renounced¹⁸ violence, calling on Mungiki members to do the same. He then returned to live on his rural farm.

The freed leader has gone into hiding following the murder of Gitau.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

4 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

5 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

6 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

7 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

8 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

10 neutralizing   

v.使失效( neutralize的现在分词 )；抵消；中和；使（一个国家）中立化

参考例句：

• This juice-about a quart a day--pours into my duodenum, neutralizing acids. 这种消化液（每天约分泌1品脱）流入我的十二指肠，把酸中和了。 来自辞典例句
• AIM: To verify the role of a synthetic peptide in neutralizing endotoxins. 目的：检验一条合成肽在中和内毒素活性方面的作用。 来自互联网

11 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

12 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

13 heinous   

adj.可憎的，十恶不赦的

参考例句：

• They admitted to the most heinous crimes.他们承认了极其恶劣的罪行。
• I do not want to meet that heinous person.我不想见那个十恶不赦的人。

14 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

15 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

16 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

17 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

18 renounced   

v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes. 我们已再次宣布放弃使用武力来解决争端。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Andrew renounced his claim to the property. 安德鲁放弃了财产的所有权。 来自《简明英汉词典》