"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,ââ Muhuri Executive director Hussein Khalid said.
Mr Khalid added that the senseless attack on MRC followers by police was a violation of the peopleâs 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,ââ Khalid said.
And speaking on telephone, National Council of NGOs chair, Mr Ken Wafula, differed with Prime Minister Raila Odingaâs 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,ââ 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,ââ 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.
