Raila rules out talks with outlawed gang

Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Monday ruled out talks with the outlawed Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) unless it drops its secessionist agenda. Read (Police want to kill us over calls to secede, claims banned group)

Mr Odinga said it would be improper for the government to negotiate with people claiming they are not Kenyans.

“At the moment there is no way the government can hold talks with the MRC leaders because they claim not to be Kenyans. I call on them to immediately drop their secession demands so that the government can enter negotiations with them to address their grievances. We can only talk to people who are Kenyans and not those who claim to be Tanzanians or Somalis,” the PM told a tourism stakeholders consultative meeting in Mombasa.

He spoke as 38 MRC members arrested in a police swoop at the weekend were charged in Kwale with holding an illegal meeting at Mwananyamala on Saturday.

The suspects denied the charges, claiming they were praying for rain when the police swooped on them.

Prosecutor Peter Muiruri said the suspects did not notify the chief of the meeting as required by law.

He asked the magistrate not to release them on bond as they were a security threat.

But the magistrate, Mr Elizabeth Usui, said the offence was bailable and released them on a bond of Sh80,000 each until May 7 when the case will be mentioned.

Earlier, Mr Odinga said the MRC grievances revolving around land and unemployment could only be resolved through dialogue and not threats.

The PM pointed out that the government had invested a lot in the region, citing roads, power supply and the planned Lamu Port among the projects implemented since 2008.

He said the province had received more money from the Exchequer than North Eastern Province.

Marginalised

“Some of the MRC grievances are unrealistic. They keep on saying that the government has marginalised them yet the Coast has huge investments in the tourism sector and other economic activities. If they say that the Coast is marginalised, what of North Eastern and Turkana where there is no tarmacked road, piped water and electricity?”

The meeting was attended by Tourism minister Dan Mwazo, assistant ministers Ali Hassan Joho (Transport) and Cecily Mbarire (Tourism), Tourism permanent secretary Leah Gwiyo and Kenya Tourist Board managing director Muriithi Ndegwa, among others.

Mombasa and Coast Tourist Association chairman Mohamed Hersi asked the government to address the MRC question as it was becoming a security threat.

“The MRC outbursts don’t augur well for the hospitality industry and therefore the government should address their grievances for peace to prevail in the region,” Mr Hersi said.

“Tourism investors are worried about their investments and the tourists visiting the region as the MRC keep on issuing threats. We don’t want the situation to culminate into skirmishes.”

At the same time, the PM asked Britain and the US to lift travel advisories against Kenya, saying the government had beefed up security to protect Kenyans and visitors.