By Patrick Beja and Philip Mwakio

The Government has announced fresh plans to engage the outlawed Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) in dialogue to resolve their grievances.

Acting Internal Security PS Mutea Iringo has disclosed that the Government hopes to persuade MRC to abandon its crusade and tackle social and economic issues, which are behind its rise. But he added the its ban would not be lifted until MRC abandons criminal activities.

"We want to engage MRC and persuade them to abandon the course they are taking. It will not benefit them in this era, when we are going into counties, which will be competing among themselves in development," Iringo said in Mombasa on Tuesday night.

But MRC has shot back, giving its own conditions through a spokesman who told The Standard Wednesday that although the group is "prepared for talks even today" it demands the immediate lifting of the ban. It has also denied any links to crime. In recent months MRC activists have been linked to violent attacks on police and electoral officials, including snatching a gun from a policeman and threatening to disrupt the General Election in Coast Province.

Fifty-three MRC activists are facing different criminal charges in Kwale and Mombasa. And, Wednesday, several appeared at the Mombasa High Court for the mention of their cases, although MRC insists none of its members engages in violence or crime. In his statement on Tuesday, Iringo appeared to climb down from recent hard line Executive position on MRC.

He announced the Government is planning a "multi-pronged" approach to engage MRC in talks, while at the same time tackling some of the social and historical issues behind MRC’s rise, including issuance of title deeds.

Mutea did not say when talks with MRC would begin or the form they would take or the venue. But he said the group "must stop attacking police officers and grabbing guns from them for the State to make it legal."

But he said the talks would involve Coast MPs, Christian and Muslim, clerics, traditional Mijikenda Kaya elders and representatives of the youth. The PS said MRC’s demands on land and other issues could be resolved through the law and under the devolved units created by the new Constitution. Iringo said land grievances, unemployment and poor infrastructure were not confined to the Coast.

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"We have an ambitious Vision 2030, which will completely change the face of Kenya. But what we need is peace to attract foreign investments," he said. He added: "The MRC was trying to hold on to issues, which are not concrete. We appeal to law abiding citizens to maintain peace."

The PS said Coast was among regions that would get the highest amount of money under a formula the Commission on Revenue Allocation has proposed for devolved funds. Wednesday, MRC spokesman Mohamed Rashid Mraja said MRC has been branded a criminal group, as an excuse to justify crackdown on its members.

"We are prepared for talks even today, but we want MRC to be legalised because it is not a threat to anybody. We have sought justice from the courts, but the police have been violent to our members," Mraja claimed.

He said out of the 33 outlawed local groups, MRC was the only outfit, which has sought justice in court. He said this was proof of its good intentions. Mraja claimed MRC officials and their families are living in fear of State agents. Many MRC leaders, however, move freely in Mombasa and other coastal towns and openly attended Wednesday’s court proceedings.