MRC ‘threatens to stop national exams’

By CYRUS OMBATI and NGUMBAO KITHI

The Mombasa Republican Council plans to disrupt the upcoming national exams, the Government has warned.

MRC activists have been agitating for a boycott of next year’s General Election and have been linked to several violent attacks including one on a Cabinet minister on Thursday.

Government officials vowed to appeal a recent court ruling that overturned a Gazette notice declaring MRC an outlawed group.

Internal Security minister Katoo ole Metito said they have intelligence that MRC plans to disrupt the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) as part

 of their efforts to “remain relevant”. Metito said the group has been warning parents against participating in the electoral process, including registering as voters for the  exercise.

“We are aware of their plans and wish to warn them that the Government will not condone criminal activities and will ensure all perpetrators face the full force of the law,” said Metito.

He said Attorney General Githu Muigai will appeal the court ruling that legalized the gang based on their recent activities, including Thursday’s attack on Fisheries minister Amason Kingi in Mtwapa, Kilifi in which five people were killed.

The minister ordered security agencies to use other laws in dealing with the MRC and other militia groups in the country that are undermining the security and safety of the country and the life and property of innocent Kenyans.

He said MRC was behind the attack on Kingi in which his bodyguard, Harrison Maitha, and four members of the gang were killed on Thursday. Commissioner of Police Mathew Iteere and AP commandant Samuel Arachi were present at the Office of the President when Metito talked to journalists.

Registration of voters

The national exams are set to start next month at about the same time as the registration of voters across the country. MRC has been warning locals against participating in elections saying Pwani si Kenya (Coast is not part of Kenya).

The minister said he will not negotiate with MRC but urged them to wait for the county government in their regions to address their demands on land and lack of employment.

“Some of their demands like land are genuine but then they must wait for the land commission to deal with them at county levels,” he said.

Speaking at Kagumo High School  Nyeri County, Acting Head of Civil Service Francis Kimemia issued a stern warning against militia groups intending to frustrate registration of voters in the Coast province. Referring to MRC, Kimemia noted that intelligence reports indicated the group intended to paralyse the upcoming nationwide registration of voters. The Head of Civil Service observed that the government was keen to enhance peace and rid the area of gangs terrorising residents.

Affected areas

“The Government will ensure that peace and stability is restored in the affected areas in Coast Province and that those eligible to vote will be registered peacefully in readiness to participate in March General Elections,” said Kimemia.

Meanwhile, MRC officials insist the group was not involved in the bloody violence at Mtomondoni in Kilifi where a minister’s bodyguard was killed.

Villagers killed four attackers after they disrupted Kingi’s meeting. Kilifi OCPD Clement Wangai identified one of the dead attackers as Sammy Matano, 25, a native of Rabai village in Kilifi. Matano has been operating a motorcycle taxi or boda boda in Mtwapa township in the same county. Wangai said the other attackers have yet to be identified. Detectives have lifted their fingerprints to retrieve their identities.

MRC spokesman Mohamed Rashid Mraja said Friday that the separatist group did not unleash the violence and claimed “politicians” are behind militia groups sprouting in Coast province. Mraja urged the youth in the province to refrain from joining violent groups and maintain peace.

But Alex Kasuku who leads the Pwani Ni Kenya Initiative Group, which opposes MRC, demanded that the MRC should demonstrate commitment to peace by dropping its call on local residents to boycott next year’s election. Kasuku warned a poll bycott will retard Coast province beyond repair.

MRC became a suspect in this matter because the attackers chanted its slogans including opposing elections in the region as they unleashed violence on Thursday. The attack came less than 24 hours after Kingi opposed the poll boycott and secessionist calls in a rare criticism of the separatist group.

But Mraja claimed MRC, which was allowed to operate after a court order that lifted a 2009 ban on it, can only fight the Government through legal means.

“I wish to warn the youth to stop being involved with the emerging groups which are sponsored by the politicians in this region,” he said.

Recent violence

“We have fought the government legally and not through threats.” Mraja said the Government should investigate Thursday’s violence and prosecute those behind it.
Kasuku said MRC must allow local residents to vote freely.

“We must prepare our people to take part in the general elections, any move to stop the exercise must be condemned,” he said. He said the call to reject the elections is “suicidal and must be rejected.”

MRC says elections should not be held in Coast province arguing that the province is not part of Kenya. The group agitates for a referendum to determine the province’s destiny.