MRC officials welcome top court verdict on ban

Officials of the secessionist Mombasa Republican Council on Tuesday welcomed an Appeal Court decision to lift its ban and stood firm on their demand for Coast to remain an independent region.

Deputy spokesman Richard Lewa said MRC had not changed its stand that “Pwani si Kenya” (Coast is not part of Kenya) and called for immediate negotiations with the government.

“We praise the court’s decision to lift our ban. We insist that “Pwani si Kenya” and demand negotiations with the government. We want to tell them that we still stand by that demand and want negotiations. If the government does not agree with that stand, what alternative does it have? Asked Mr Lewa.

Speaking at a press conference at the Mombasa Nation Bureau, Mr Lewa said Coast had suffered from decades of marginalisation, with most of the residents remaining jobless and squatters.

“Since creation of the world, coastal people have never been happy. We are still a colony of some people. We are still jobless and only about 30 per cent of our people own land while outsiders own 40 per cent of our land,” he said.

He was accompanied by the group’s Council of Elders official, Mr Malembi Mwatsahu, who called for speedy negotiations.

Mr Lewa said MRC was not a militia group as claimed, adding some criminals could have used its name to commit atrocities in the past. “We want to state that we are a peace-loving group that follows and values the rule of law. That is why for the last five years while our cases were in court, we remained patient,” he said.

On suggestions that MRC transforms into a political party, Mr Lewa said officials presented proposals for registration some time back but the government declined to register it. “We are neutral and do not support any side of the political divide,” he said.

“We had wanted to register it as a political party but the government declined to register it,” he said.

He denied that the group was aligned to any political party.