By PHILIP MWAKIO and JOSEPH MASHA
The Government is warning that children are falling prey to Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) propaganda, and a section of the media used to fan tribalism and hatred at the Coast.
Experts said FM stations and other media are misreporting on the separatist Mombasa group, fanning hate through the airwaves.
A human rights activist, Mr Stambuli Abdillahi, Monday accused the MRC of fanning secessionism in the region through selective use of historical documents.
“MRC is referring to documents they say support their claim that Coast is not part of Kenya. Kenya become a unitary state voluntarily during the Lancaster House conference,’’ he said at a public forum in Mombasa Monday.
Officials warned the Government will crack down on media stations a week after the Director of the National Security Intelligence Services (NSIS) Michael Gichangi described MRC as a threat to Kenya’s survival as a nation and warned politicians against promoting it.
And in Malindi, police reported two children have been placed in their custody for spraying separatist slogans as a group of youths tried to burn down a vehicle belonging to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
MRC has urged indigenous Coast residents to boycott the next elections and in February and May, it is suspected its members attacked IEBC offices in Malindi and Kwale, killing a guard and snatching a police gun.
Monday officials of the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), and a media scholar warned that the media is behaving irresponsibly in MRC affairs.
“We are watching them. Some FM stations are not objective and have allowed themselves to be used by politicians to further political trends and incite ethnicity,’’ Information Secretary Ezekiel Mutua said when he addressed a public forum organised by MCK at the Mombasa Women’s Hall Monday.
And NCIC chairman Mzalendo Kibunjia warned the Press against promoting division ahead of the elections. He threatened to “crack the whip” on electronic, print and social media he claimed are promoting hate.
“We do not want to find ourselves in the same situation that saw us nearly tear our great nation apart. Our experience particularly during electioneering times has not been good,’’ he said.
