Coast now calm as 19 are charged

From left; Kilifi South MP Ken Chonga, Patrick Chiro, Kilifi County Assembly Speaker Teddy Mwambire and Victor Katana at a Mombasa Court. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

Calm has been restored at the Coast after Wednesday’s anti-government protests that affected Mombasa, Kilifi, and Taita Taveta counties.

On Thursday, 19 protestors, including Kilifi South MP Ken Chonga and Kilifi County Assembly Speaker Teddy Mwambire, were brought to court for participating in the protests.

Mr Chonga, Mr Mwambire, Patrick Charo, and Victor Mwaganga were all charged with joining in anti-government protests and shouting slogans against the government.

Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku ordered them to be held at Shimo la Tewa Prison until today when both the prosecution and defense will discuss bail. State Prosecutor Alex Gituma argued against releasing the lawmaker and his colleagues, citing security concerns and the public interest in the case.

The other 15 protestors were also charged with taking part in illegal gatherings and demonstrations in Mombasa’s Ganjoni area.

Yesterday, armed police officers patrolled the city in trucks and Land Rovers, instructing small groups in the central business district to break up. Most businesses were open, and schools seemed to be operating normally.

Haki Afrika Executive Director Khalid Hussein said that his organisation has recorded 27 deaths and 350 arrests in the past two weeks, adding that the police were a threat to innocent schoolchildren.

“We are calling on the two leaders to end their hard stance and return to dialogue on the contentious issues. Dialogue requires selfless leadership. We are asking the leaders to stop chest-thumping and embrace talks,” said Mr Hussein.

Bradley Ouna of Concern Citizens and other civil society activists criticised Azimio politicians in Mombasa for not showing enough support for the protests.

Yesterday, all ODM elected leaders in Mombasa, led by Governor Abdulswamad Nassir, held a closed-door meeting while protests continued in parts of the Coast region.

Wednesday’s protests, which spread across most of the Coast, led to the arrests of MP Chonga and Mwambire after a heated exchange with the police.

The protests, led by Kilifi Senator and Senate Minority Leader Mr. Stewart Madzayo in the Mtwapa area, also included Kaloleni MP Paul Katana and his Malindi counterpart Amina Mnyazi, who managed to evade the police who claimed they were not informed of the protest.

Madzayo argued that they were merely exercising their right to protest as granted by Article 37 of the Constitution, but the police insisted they should have been told about the specific location of the protests. 

[Patrick Beja, Joackim Bwana and Renson Mnyamwezi]