In 2006, Mathare was damaged by violence between rival gangs the Taliban (not to be confused with the Islamist group of the same name), a Luo group, and the Mungiki, a Kikuyu group.
The violence had been limited to the Kirinyaga District for one week but suddenly spread when the Mungiki launched an attack on a minibus (matatus), at a road block which had been set up in the Kagio area.