Haji told to step aside for Tana clashes probe

Religious leaders have called on Defence minister Yusuf Haji to step aside to allow investigations into Tana River clashes, which claimed 112 lives.

Kenya National Muslim Advisory Council chairman Juma Ngao and Holy Ghost Catholic Cathedral Vicar General Wilbur Lagho on Sunday said it was unfair for the government to sack Livestock assistant minister Dhadho Godhana alone yet Mr Haji was also widely mentioned in the clashes.

“Mr Yusuf Haji should immediately resign from the portfolio of Defence because his name, like that of Godhana, came out prominently in the Tana River clashes,” Sheikh Ngao said in Mombasa.

They called on President Kibaki to sack Mr Haji if he refuses to resign voluntarily. (READ: Haji: I'm not to blame over Tana clashes)

Father Lagho said police cannot carry out independent when the minister is still in office.

“How can the investigating officers incriminate their boss who is the Defence minister? It’s impossible since they will fear victimisation,” he said.

The clerics said that if the two leaders are found guilty of involvement in the bloody conflict, they should be charged with the crimes that were committed.

Mr Godhana, who was dismissed from service and charged in court with incitement, claimed that Mr Haji was an interested party in the fighting between the Pokomo and the Orma.

The minister was accused of transporting thousands of his cattle from Ijara to Tana Delta and building a health centre and a school in Tana River.

Separately, the government on Sunday asked landlords to vet persons intending to rent houses in Mombasa and Kisauni after intelligence reports indicated some raiders who committed massacres in Tana Delta were hiding in the two districts.

Kisauni DC Tom Anjere urged locals to report to the police any strangers in the area. He said they would issue landlords with new security measures to curb the influx of criminals into the area.