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activist, Mr Stambuli Abdillahi, Monday accused the MRC of fanning secessionism in the region through selective use of historical documents.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.

Mr Mutua said freedom of speech was being abused by radio presenters who allow inciteful comments to be aired on live telecasts. Although Mutua did not name the stations, local FM stations regularly organise call-in programmes where some callers make incendiary remarks about immigrant tribes and support separatism.

Mutua said hate agenda is often promoted by the owners of the stations but Monday he threatened that airwaves of offending media will be withdrawn.

“Let them be forewarned that airwaves which they use for transmission are national resources and they must adhere to set rules and regulations governing media operations in Kenya,’’ he said. There are five FM stations in Coast Province broadcasting in local languages and Swahili and Monday Mutua said the Government and MCK has written warning letters to some of them.

“We have the MCK who shall ensure the FM stations adhere to work ethics and help promote unity among Kenyans irrespective of their party affiliations or ethnicity,’’ Mutua said, adding media should not promote tribal propaganda.

responsible reporting
Media scholar Joe Kadhi claimed journalists are not reporting the MRC issue responsibly hence fanning emotive understanding of historical injustices. 

“It all boils down to issues of professionalism. The nuts and bolts of news presentation and the need to adhere to the code of ethics has to be followed to the hilt here,’’ Kadhi stressed.
He said MRC is a story about conflict and  free media should address all necessary facets, including exploring solutions.

MCK chairman Levi Obonyo said the agency has developed a training curriculum for all journalists and a code of ethics that it would enforce during the polls, adding that some journalists were ill trained.

IEBC regional coordinator Amina Masoud said voter registration at the Coast was very low and urged the media to foster interest.

Other MCK members who attended the Mombasa forum included Nelly Matheka, Sarah Nkatha, Okong’o Omogeni and Eric Orina.

In the Malindi case the two children were detained after they were found writing separatist slogans in support of the MRC on  a church wall in Kilifi on Sunday.

Police say the two were founding inscribing the Pwani Si Kenya slogan, which is used by the outlawed Mombasa Republican Council to spread separatism.

The police boos said the two were caught writing the words on the wall of a church before the information was passed to local Administration Police officers who arrested them.
“We are holding two school children at the Kilifi police station for interrogation over claims that they were caught writing the words Pwani si Kenya on the wall of a church on Sunday,” said Wangai Monday.

Mr Wangai said the police are interrogating the two to establish if they had been sent to write the slogans or if they did it independent of other influences.

holding suspects
“The reason we are holding the suspects in our cells is to establish if they were sent or it was their own idea and possibly get to know the reason behind it,” said Wangai.
In another case, a group of youth also suspected to be members of MRC allegedly attempted to set ablaze a  vehicle hired by IEBC to do civic education on election matters at Chonyi divisional headquarters.

According to Kilifi deputy OCPD Maurice Musonye, the mater is still under investigation and the coordinator of IEBC in Kilifi, Mr Hassan Mwakulonda has  recorded a statement with the police.

Meanwhile, a senior civil servant in Kilifi has revealed that the Government has cautioned them against addressing the issues of MRC through the Press.
The source said the Government had formed a parliamentary select committee to investigate MRC and that no government officer should make remarks through the media.