Kibaki imposes curfew in Tana

By Martin Mutua                 

President Kibaki has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew in trouble ridden Tana river County following ethnic violence that has left close to 100 people dead in the last one month.

In a statement to newsrooms last evening by the Presidential Press Service, the Head of State said with the publication of the curfew in the gazette notice, more measures outlining how the security operation will deal the matter will be outlined.

“Consequently, the Government has invoked Part 3 of the Preservation of Public Security Act in respect of the affected areas of Tana River County and directed the declaration and maintenance of a dusk to dawn curfew among other measures to be published in a gazette notice,” added the statement

He also ordered deployment of more security reinforcements into the area that saw 38 people including nine police officers killed on Monday morning in fresh attacks.

“The Government will get to the bottom of the matter.  In the meantime, additional security measures are being taken to deal with the security challenges and normalize the situation.  Local leaders must also take a pro-active role and preach peace among area residents”, President Kibaki said.

The President condemned the killings that have occurred in parts of Tana River County and ordered security agencies to take firm and decisive action against those behind the skirmishes and restore law and order in the area.

“The killings of innocent women, children, men and security officials is a heinous crime and the perpetrators must be punished accordingly for their outright disregard for the sanctity of human life and property,” he added.