Lamu County shut down in curfew protests

Boats at Lamu Sea front in lamu Island recently

Activities at the Lamu County headquarters were paralysed following a daylong demonstration as a section of residents challenged the extension of a dusk-to-dawn curfew by Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo by a month.

Residents grounded all the boats, which provide the only mode of transport to the busy island, and closed down the market and other businesses.

As the sit-in ensued, police reinforcements were sent in from the mainland and upcountry to monitor the situation with some activists claiming police headquarters had sent 2,000 new officers onto Lamu and Faza islands and Mpeketoni. Dozens patrolled Lamu island yesterday.

Most residents heeded calls by activists to boycott all commercial activities, turning the island into a ghost town. Most civil servants, who live on the mainland, were stranded at the Mokowe Jetty after operators pulled out their boats in solidarity with aggrieved residents.

Lamu Deputy County Commissioner Fredrick Ndambuki said the Government would bring in its own boats to "ensure normal operations resume and the Form Four national examination is not disrupted".

Lamu island is only accessible by speed boat, even for those who travel there by bus or air.

"Residents have a right to close their shops but that right should not interfere with the rights of others," said Ndambuki who added that the shutdown could be counterproductive by ruining the local economy further.

Besides shutting down boat transport, all buses travelling from Mombasa and other towns to Lamu also pulled out and by last evening residents had not received newspapers amid fears that crucial supplies could soon run low. The local market was also closed down as dozens of police patrolled the island's narrow streets.

Speaking on telephone to The Standard from Lamu, former Langoni Ward Civic Leader and a member of the Beach Management Unit Fahad Jaraye said general transport activities had ceased operating by early yesterday.

"There are no boat movements. All the boats used to ferry passengers and goods that include motorised vessels and sail dhows are moored at the seafront," he said.

The protest is aimed at compelling the national government to lift the curfew particularly on the islands, which were not hit by the bloody raids in which over 60 people were killed by suspected Al-Shabaab militants in June.

Curfew opponents said it has destroyed the local hotel and tourism economy and also allowed security forces to detain and kill suspects with impunity.

Separately at the Lamu Law Courts, activist Abubakar Mohamed, a retired naval officer who was arrested at his home on Friday, was charged with incitement. Police claimed Mohamed was behind plans to hold protests on the island yesterday.

Hunger strike

Kimaiyo monitored the ensuing Lamu protests from Malindi yesterday where he and the entire National Police Service Commission had attended a security conference for top police officers. He told The Standard from Malindi last evening the curfew would not be lifted, claiming the county is still insecure.

"The directive remains. We still have threats in Lamu and other parts of Coast and the country," he said indicating additional officers have been deployed to fight crime.

Leaders called for urgent consultations following a major split between island residents and those in the mainland areas of Mpeketoni and Hindi and who want the curfew sustained until the attackers are identified and arrested.

Wanaharakati Okoa Lamu Association Organising Secretary Mohamed Abdulkadir termed the protest a success and said they would sustain it until the Government listened to their plea to have the curfew lifted. "This is a hunger strike," he said adding the demonstration was peaceful and police did not harass them as earlier feared.

Lamu County Commissioner Njenga Miiri reserved his comments on the demonstrations saying he was not at his work station. But Deputy Governor Eric Mugo, Lamu West MP Julius Ndegwa and his Lamu East counterpart Athman Sharif Ali called for urgent consultations to end the curfew impasse that has split residents.

Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims Coast Chairman Sheikh Muhdhar Khitamy also protested against the sustained curfew and asked the Government to rescind its decision to extend it.