Mombasa Civil groups back calls for national dialogue

From Left: Haki Africa Executive Director Khalid Hussein, Director Board of Governors Khalef Khalifa, Muslim for Human Rights Programmes Officer Francis Auma and Kenya Communication Support Centre Director Philis Mwema in Mombasa Thursday. [PHOTO: OMONDI ONYANGO/STANDARD]

MOMBASA COUNTY: Civil society groups in Mombasa have backed CORD’s calls for national dialogue and also demanded the withdrawal of Kenya’s military from Somalia.

The groups further raised claims of police turning Nyali, Bamburi and Makupa police stations into torture and extortion centres, as well as licensing people with ‘questionable character’ to own guns.

Thursday, the organisations asked the Jubilee government to resign if it could not protect citizens from violence and insecurity. They claimed that Kenya deployed forces to Somalia unilaterally against professional advice and regional agreements.

They accused the security agencies of running a campaign of murder, rape, torture and extortion in the name of fighting Al-Shabaab and terrorism.

The 27 human rights groups issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Government to call for dialogue with them, failure to which they would stage “massive demonstration” in Mombasa starting on June 19.

The groups demanded that the proposed national dialogue should start at the county level culminating at the national level.

They also want security agencies in Mombasa to hold consultative meetings with them to address seven key issues, after which they will present evidence of corruption in the police force.

“We have seven key issues that we want to discuss with various Government agencies with regard to the rising insecurity in Mombasa. Though we support CORD’s calls for dialogue, our demand is that issues affecting the country should be vented from the grassroots first,” said Patrick Ochieng, the executive director of Ujamaa Center.

Addressing the Press in a Mombasa hotel, Mr Ochieng said the county has borne the brunt of runaway insecurity and efforts to support the security system have been thwarted by “corrupt cartels in the police force” hence the calls to talk with top Government officials.

The groups include Action Aid, Haki Africa, Center for Law and Research International (Clarion), Genesis for Human Rights Commission (GHRC), Commission for Human Rights (CHR), International Medical Legal Unit (Imlu), Muslim for Human Rights (Muhuri) and Ujamaa Center.

Others are Coast Women in Development (CWID), World Grace (WG) and Coast Interfaith Preachers of Kenya (CIPK) among others.

Muhuri chairman Khelef Khalifa said the proliferation of small arms in Mombasa, used by criminals terrorising clerics, was due to corruption in the police force.

“People of questionable character have been licensed as gun holders. We have written to the police over the issue but they are not acting. Bamburi, Nyali and Makupa police stations have been turned into extortion camps where people are arrested and released after parting with huge bribes,” said Mr Khalifa.