By Tobias Chanji

Provincial administrators in Kwale County fear for their lives after suspected Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) members killed a chief early this week.

Several chiefs and their assistants, reports indicate, are living in fear of reprisal attacks following Monday murder of an administrator in Kombani area. MRC adherents allegedly killed assistant chief Salim Changu after suspecting he had betrayed their leader Omar Mwamnwadzi to police.

One of the assistant chief’s relative, Hamisi Ali, who is a village elder, has since gone into hiding after some men sympathetic to the MRC leader threatened him.

Area councillor Nassir Kilanga, who had also gone into hiding but surfaced during the burial of the assistant chief on Tuesday, said he had received reports that MRC followers are looking for him.

Coast PPO Aggrey Adoli has, however, assured the administrators and residents that police have beefed up security. He added that detectives are looking for about 50 people linked to MRC.

“The crackdown will go on until we get all those that we are looking for. There are over 50 people on our list,” Adoli said in Mombasa. Speaking in Diani, Kwale County Commissioner Evans Achoki announced that a special unit of Administration Police officers would be deployed at Ng’ombeni on a piece of land acquired by Government last year.

Ng’ombeni is near Mwamnwadzi’s home area. Achoki did not disclose the size of the AP unit but said the Government has been moving equipment to the site since last week.

“The officers were supposed to be brought last week but we delayed securing huts and tents,” said Achoki.

He described Ng’ombeni as a “hot spot” that requires “maximum security” but added that the Government has also identified other areas of concern in Vuga, Matuga, Waa, Kombani and Tiwi where General Service Unit police officers will be deployed.

slain suspects

The commissioner said the Government believes there are MRC militants in Kombani because it is Mwamnwadzi’s birthplace.

He noted that two MRC followers police claim died defending the separatist leader came from Waa, which makes it an area of concern.

“The information we have is that the two came from Waa. Their kin went for their bodies and did not even want a postmortem and had to swear an affidavit,” added Achoki.

A senior police officer in Diani identified one of the slain suspects as Rashid Mwadengome, adding that he was hurriedly buried in Waa.

“There were very few mourners at his funeral. They did not cry,” said the officer who identified the other slain militant as Salim. According to the officer, Salim was recently married.

Meanwhile, Achoki said Chunga was killed by a group of 11 young men who had also been guarding Mwamnwadzi.

He recounted that they killed the assistant chief in revenge after learning their leader had been captured and their colleagues killed by police.

“From what we have gathered, a group of young men were guarding Mwamunwadzi in turns. It was the turn of the 11 to relieve the other group. They got wind that their leader had been captured and went to the chief’s home,” he said.

Achoki disclosed the suspects might have come from outside Kombani because “the group was seen alighting from a vehicle.”