Government warns politicians against ‘incitement’

Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku. He the Government is not ruling out anything including politics in the Mpeketoni attack. [PHOTO: FILE]

NAIROBI, KENYA: Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku Monday said the Government is not ruling out anything including politics in the Mpeketoni attack that claimed lives of 48 people.

Without elaborating, the CS said the red line has already been crossed and warned politicians against ‘inciting’ the public.
“We are pursuing the perpatrators who raided Mpeketoni and the Kibaoni areas of Lamu,” he said. “We are also pursuing all possibilities but anything incitement will be dealt with according to the law,” he said at a press conference.

Unidentified gunmen attacked a coastal town in Kenya's Lamu county and set fire to at least three hotels and a petrol station on Sunday evening, police and the Kenya Red Cross said.

Police said the attackers arrived at Mpeketoni on mainland Lamu in a van and then also attacked a police station.
"Attackers hijacked a van from Witu town which they used for the attacks. They raided Mpeketoni police station first and opened fire," Hamaton Mwaliko, Mpeketoni area administration police chief told Reuters.

"Some hotels in the town are on fire. We don't know how many casualties are there for now. We understand the attackers have already fled but our officers are pursuing them."

The Interior Ministry had earlier reported on its Twitter feed the attackers had arrived in two public minibuses and started shooting at residents.

It was not immediately clear how many attackers were involved and what group if any, they belonged to, and if there any casualties.