Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Aspirants defy NIS warning to court MRC ahead of polls


By Vitalis Kimutai
Politicians continue to embrace the Mombasa Republican Council in their hunt for votes even as intelligence unit warns of criminal acts from the group.
Political aspirants have been outdoing each other as they seek to catch the attention of the controversial MRC, which was recently given a lifeline by the High Court, as date for next General Election fast approaches.
Presidential hopefuls, MPs and those interested with elective posts have lately been seen to support the ideals of the formerly outlawed group which has been pushing for the secession of the coast region.
Even those who previously opposed the group’s activities have since made a U-turn and demanded that the issues raised be addressed by the Government as a matter of urgency.
MRC’s mantra ‘Pwani si Kenya’ (the Coast is not in Kenya) has however not been supported by politicians from across the divide.
High Court Judges John Mwera, Mary Kasango and Francis Tuiyot lifted the ban on MRC, a move that jolted security officers and the political landscape in the region and by extension, across the country.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Gichugu MP Martha Karua and Lugari’s Cyrus Jirongo are some of the presidential aspirants that have demanded MRC issues be addressed.
Valid issues
Raila has sent out mixed signals on the matter saying at one point the Government would not negotiate with the group and, at another point, stated the issues were valid.
“We are not going to dialogue with people who claim not to be Kenyans. MRC should be Kenyan first before we dialogue with them as their problems are not unique to the rest of the country,” Raila said in April in Mombasa.
But the PM turned around and said he supported dialogue with the group later.
“MRC are our people, our youth and brothers. We shall sit down with them to discuss the issues,” Raila said in Likoni Mombasa.
Ruto has said the problems which have been highlighted by MRC were similar to the ones affecting all youth across the country.
“It is possible for us to unite and resolve our issues. The solution is in electing a leadership that understands the problems ordinary people face,” Ruto said during a recent tour of the Coast.
Karua says it is important for the Government to listen to the grievances by MRC instead of wielding a big stick.
Land matters
Jirongo said the issues being raised by MRC were promoted after the country gained independence from the colonial government.
“Huge chunks of land are lying idle in the coast region because of absentee landlords yet the locals are wallowing in poverty and not benefiting from the resource. These are issues that need to be looked into,” he said.
The move comes despite National Intelligence Service Director General Michael Gichangi repeatedly warning politicians courting MRC to desist from doing so as the group was a threat to national security.
Disrupt polls
Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia, the chairman of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission, has said there is need for the Government to engage the group.
Kibunjia and a team of NCIC commissioners secretly had a meeting with MRC leaders and later publicly said the group was well-funded with the ability to disrupt polls.
The lifting of the ban has also put the 23 MPs from Coast in a tricky situation with some choosing to avoid commenting on the matter publicly.
Coast parliamentary group chair Benedict Gunda has supported MRC in its quest, saying youth in the region want a lasting solution for inequalities the society has faced for decades.
Ministers Amason Kingi (Fisheries) and Dan Mwazo (Tourism), assistant minister Francis Baya, MPs Thomas Mwadhegu (Wundanyi), Gideon Mung’aro (Malindi) and nominated MP Sheikh Mohamed Dor  wants the Government to look into the issues raised by MRC.
Kingi and Mwazo said the issues MRC has raised replicates the problems facing people at both urban and rural coastal region.
Poverty factor
Baya said the only way to get a lasting solution is for the Government to negotiate with MRC and address their grievances.
“The Coastal region has many resources that have not benefited locals. It is a tourism hub in the country yet locals continue to wallow in poverty,” Baya said.
Molo MP Joseph Kiuna, a member of the House committee on Internal Security said no one should be seen to entertain the secession calls.
“It does not matter our standing in the society, those calling for secession are taking the joke a little bit too far. Even if it is to grab the attention of the authorities, it is simply not the way to go,” Mr Kiuna said.
Eldoret South MP Peris Simam said some leaders are playing politics with the matter, saying “It is a wrong approach to the problems facing the people.”
MRC chairman Omar Mwamnuadzi says there are no plans to turn the group into a political party as its main agenda was to fight for the rights of the locals who have allegedly been oppressed since independence.
“We are happy the court lifted the ban that was imposed on us two years ago. Though we are yet to get full freedom, we’re no longer regarded as criminals,” he said.
Personal Rights
He added that the group’s main agenda is to bring together the coastal people to speak in one voice on issues affecting them.
MRC spokesman Rashid Mraja condemned the police for harassing youth in the region and arbitrarily arresting them.
“We are aware more than 700 security agents have been deployed to Coast to contain MRC, but they would not succeed in their quest,” Mraja said.
Mraja said it was sad security officers continue to trample on constitutional rights of association to the members to an extent they have denied the group the right to hold public rallies and prayer meetings.
The Government has previously linked MRC to the Republican Revolutionary Council that was rooting for evictions of the non-coastal people from the region.
MRC’s activities are mainly centred around Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi as it is not felt in Tana River and Taita-Taveta counties.
MRC argues that 70 per cent of the Coast residents are squatters and people from up country are taking up jobs meant for locals.
Mock election chaos
Leaflets claimed to have been authored by MRC members have been circulated in the region on several occasions, warning up country people of attack.
The group has vowed not to allow the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to register voters to take part in the next General Election. A gang said to be MRC adherents disrupted the IEBC mock election exercise in Malindi in May in a violence that left three people dead.
They descended on Bomani and Msambweni polling stations and attacked watchmen guarding the election material.
Mr James Oswago, the IEBC Chief Executive said the group’s demands for the electoral body to hire locals had been met but that there were rules and regulations that could not be bent.
Competing interests
Ms Amina Swalleh Soud, the IEBC co-ordinator for Mombasa, Kwale and Taita-Taveta counties said she was finding it increasingly difficult to discharge her duties owing to security threats and hostility from the locals.
Mr Titus Kangangi, the former chairman of the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers Coast branch said the competing political interests to win support of the group was not good for the tourism industry.
“The publicity that MRC has gotten in the recent past and the accompanying violence and other activities does not augur well for the tourism sector,” he said.
The politicians rush to associate with MRC may complicate matters for IEBC as it rolls out voter education and registration.







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