At least 24 people have been killed in central Kenya in clashes between villagers and members of the Mungiki sect.
Charles Owino, the deputy police spokesman, said that the deaths occurred overnight when villagers near the town of Karatina took on members of the sect saying they had been extorting money from them.
Eric Kiraithe, the police spokesman, said on Tuesday that three people had been left seriously injured and that police had arrested 37 people.
Police said the violence was linked to Mungiki members forcing people out of one district of Karatina, a town in the Nyeri West district of central Kenya, about 100km from the capital.
According to police, the Mungiki is Kenya's version of the Mafia and is involved in extortion and racketeering, protection rings, kidnapping and murder.
However, the group claims to have two million members in central Kenya and in the Rift Valley provinces. It advocates a return to tribal traditions and customs.
Most of its members are from the Kikuyu, Kenya's largest ethnic group, and are said to have links to politicians and powerful families.
Two years ago, police allegedly killed hundreds of its members in a crackdown in Nairobi.
PHOTO CAPTION
Kenyan riot police in Nairobi in March.
Al-Jazeera