Man dies as police crush Mombasa protest by MRC

By Philip Mwakio and Willis Oketch

Attempts by police to block a protest by members of the banned Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) Tuesday ended with the death of a marcher.

Police said the man was killed after a stone thrown by fellow protesters hit him on the head as the crowd battled police outside the High Court.

The incident came a few hours before President Kibaki issued what could be his second and final State of the Nation address from Parliament, warning that the Government will never let the Coast region secede as demanded by MRC. The protest turned rowdy after police fired tear gas canisters into the crowd of MRC supporters trying to enter the High Court in Mombasa.

Police confront members of the Mombasa Republican Council at the Mombasa Law Courts on Tuesday. Some members have been charged with belonging to the outlawed group. [Photo:Maarufu Mohamed/Standard]

Nine people were charged in court for belonging to an unlawful group (MRC). This followed 10 others charged with the same offence in the past weeks. At the same time police are searching for locals who are over 18 years old but either lack or have not applied for a national identity card.

"They must tell us where they lost the important (identity) cards, which are used by any Kenyan who is above 18 years," said Coast Provincial Police Officer Aggrey Adoli.

Mr Adoli warned that the crackdown would continue throughout Coast Province.

However, the MRC claim it has already collected the voters’ cards from supporters in the region to sabotage the coming General Election.

Members of the outlawed group say their biggest challenge with the Government is lack of land, unemployment and poor infrastructure.

They want non-indigenous residents who they say own most of the prime land in Coast Province to leave.

Unless their demands are met, says the group, they will press on with the fight to have the region secede.

Tension has been building over the last few months as the MRC became openly vocal with its secession demands, with support from some Members of Parliament from the region.

Yesterday, police took the body to Coast Provincial General Hospital mortuary after the bloody confrontation at the law courts.

Businesses closed

Police chased MRC supporters into Mombasa’s central business district, forcing several business owners to hurriedly close their premises.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Monday rejected talks with the outlawed movement, a position President Kibaki emphatically echoed yesterday. The police have been rounding up members of the group.

Standard Group photojournalist Maarufu Mohamed suffered injuries to his waist and leg after stones were thrown at him.

"We lost one person during the fracas as police tried to contain rowdy MRC members," Mombasa OCPD Kipkemboi Rop said.

Mr Rop confirmed that nine people, all members of MRC had been arrested, with three of them having been arraigned in court and charged with being members of the outlawed group.

Police took over the High Court precincts, which was a no-go zone for suspected MRC members prior to the court session.

Some of those arrested wore T-shirts emblazoned with the MRC inscription, Pwani si Kenya (Coast is not in Kenya) on the back.

Court proceedings went on uninterrupted as anti-riot police backed by the dreaded paramilitary General Service Unit and 100 members of the Administration Police milled in and around the court premises.

Reacting to the incident, two civil society groups heaped blame on the police for alleged use of excessive force.

"Muhuri strongly condemns the excessive force used by police officers on MRC followers at the law courts. We blame the police for violating the right to a free and fair trial. Also to blame are politicians who talk loosely and incite public against MRC. We demand immediate arrest of police officers involved,’’ Muhuri Executive director Hussein Khalid said.

Mr Khalid added that the senseless attack on MRC followers by police was a violation of the people’s rights to assembly and association.

"The needless death of one MRC member at the law court today (yesterday) is proof that Kenya is very much in the days of impunity and police excesses. That people attending court would end up dead is appalling. It is unacceptable. We call on the Chief Justice to intervene and assure Kenyans of access to courts and justice,’’ Khalid said.

And speaking on telephone, National Council of NGOs chair, Mr Ken Wafula, differed with Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s statement that the MRC did not deserve to mediate with the Government.

"Kenyans have not been told why MRC was gazetted as an unlawful organisation. Unlawful organisations operate underground and their activities remain highly secretive,’’ Wafula said.

Bad governance

He went on to add that MRC followers were Kenyan citizens voicing their concerns over bad governance, years of economic marginalisation and failure by successive governments, both local and national, to address problems they face, key among them land.

"There has been no national and public assessment of problems at hand posed by MRC to justify them being an outlawed movement,’’ Wafula explained.

Two MPs from Coast, Mr Chirau Mwakwere and Mr Amason Kingi support talks with the outlawed group as long as they drop the demand that the region secede.

"The Government must listen to the MRC, I think their demands are genuine," said Mwakwere.

"The talk of secession is dangerous. We must lay our demands before the Government for discussion, but stop the call that Coast is not in Kenya," he added.

Internal Security Minister Prof George Saitoti has also accepted to listen to the group only if they renounce violence.

"This Government will listen to the MRC if it renounces the violence call," he said. Raila said on Monday the Government would not talk to the MRC as long as they refused to consider themselves Kenyans.

He, however, said concerns by the group about marginalisation of indigenous residents of the region were valid.

And the High Court ordered Rop to investigate claims that his men had shot dead a member of the outlawed group.

Secession debate

Justices John Mwera, Mary Kasango and Francis Tuiyot gave the orders after MRC lawyer Kithi Ngombo complained that the police was harassing his clients.

"My Lords I want the court to take judicial notice that the police are harassing my clients who have come to attend the hearing of their case in which they have sued the State for degazetting MRC," said Ngombo.

Ngombo, who was giving his submission in a case in which members of MRC want to be allowed to debate on whether to separate from Kenya, insisted it is the right of the members to decide on their political cause.

However, State lawyer Mwangi Njoroge when asked said he had no idea of what Ngombo was asking.

Rop denied claims the police had shot the youth saying none of his officers carried guns with bullets and asked anybody to go to the mortuary and ascertain if the body had a bullet.

Police, however, confirmed one of the members died after being accidentally hit by a stone, which was aimed at police officers.

"My officers carried only guns for shooting the tear gas canisters when necessary," said Rop.

Ngombo earlier in his submission told the court that Prof Saitoti erred in law by including MRC as among the outlawed groups in the country.

The lawyer argued that the members of the group had a legal right to association and were trying to fight for their rights.

He claimed the group had a right to talk about separating from Kenya, as it was provided in the Constitution.

Ngombo said the court should allow the group to operate legally as any other political party because the Bill of Rights of Kenya gives them express rights to chart their own political destiny.

The submission continues Wednesday.