Anxiety grips region over killing of cleric

The killing of Sheikh Mohammed Idris on June 10 has sparked anxiety among the moderate Muslim clerics and youths in the Coast who have been fighting radicalisation.

According to the Kenya Muslim Youth Alliance Coast coordinator Khamis Mwaguzo, fear is running high in the region as clerics are afraid to speak openly against extremist youths. And police have not been able to solve past killings of Muslim clerics.

(READ: Shock as moderate cleric gunned down)

“The government should protect moderate clerics who, in their own humble way, deal with radicalisation and terrorism,” he said.

Apart from clerics, activists are also said to be targeted by the radical youths. One such activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was forced into a safe house after extremists accused him of being an informer.

“My name was on a list of targets in Mombasa, and this forced me to go underground for fear of my life,” the activist said.

Sheikh Idris was the chairman of both the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya and Peace and Security for Development Network. He was scheduled to chair a two-day national conference on community policing starting Monday at a Mombasa hotel. 

The conference brings together civil societies from the Coast region working in the areas of community policing, counter-radicalisation, peace building and conflict resolution.

Those expected to participate in the conference are the Coast Interfaith Clerics Council, Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, Kenya Muslims Youth Alliance, Likoni Community Development Programme and Muslims for Human Rights.

“We expect participants to share their experiences and lessons learnt from various community policing initiatives to address issues concerning the Nyumba Kumi Initiative, extremism and corruption,” Mr Mwaguzo said.

Human rights groups have petitioned Chief Justice Willy Mutunga to set up a commission of inquiry into the killings of clerics.

In addition to calling for personal security for all religious leaders whose lives are at risk, the groups want the government to thoroughly investigate the killings, the missing people and those imprisoned in foreign lands.

In his letter to Chief Justice Mutunga, Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid requested the setting up of a team to investigate the killing of Sheikh Idris and other religious leaders.

IN THE LETTER

“We have documented over 40 fatal shootings of individuals with almost half being Muslim clerics,” he said in the letter, adding that he had communicated the same to different government security and justice organs.

Muslims for Human Rights executive director Mwambi Mwasaru condemned the killing of Sheikh Idris, saying it was one of several violent deaths the government has not bothered to investigate.

“Let the government salvage its reputation by doing what it is supposed to do as a matter of duty,” he said in his press release.

Earlier, the same organisation had issued a statement challenging the government to tackle insecurity. It wants the government to move with speed to guarantee security in all parts of the country as Kenyans move towards the Holy Month of Ramadhan next month.

According to Mr Mwaguzo, the slain cleric’s aim was to achieve peaceful coexistence in the Coast region.

From 2012 to date, at least 20 religious leaders, both Christian and Muslim, have been killed in unexplained circumstances.

Sheikh Samir Khan was among the first Muslim clerics to be killed over his alleged involvement in terrorist activities. He was facing charges in court before his body was found in Tsavo National Park in 2012. Eyewitnesses claimed he was abducted together with his colleague Mohammed Kassim, whose fate remains unknown.

In August of the same year, Sheikh Aboud Rogo was killed when gunmen in a vehicle opened fire on his car. Before his death, the firebrand preacher was on a US and UN list of terror suspects linked to al-Shabaab.

Viewed as Sheikh Rogo’s successor at the controversial Masjid Musa Mosque, Sheikh Ibrahim Ismail was also gunned down in October 2013 on the Mombasa-Malindi highway.

The next to die under the same circumstances was Imam Hassan Suleiman Mwayuyu, 60, who was killed in Tiwi while travelling in a minibus on December 6, 2013. Another cleric, Sheikh Shaaban, was shot dead in Majengo.

The other prominent cleric to be killed early this year was Sheikh Abubakar Shariff, also known as Makaburi.

The killings have usually been followed by demonstrations that sometimes turned violent.