Fear grips Kwale as three Nyumba Kumi officials are killed

Residents of Bongwe village in Msambweni Sub County are living in fear following the killing of three members of Nyumba Kumi on Saturday night by unknown assailants.

Mohammed Mwanguze who is a village chairman and his close associates Hassan Mwasanite and Juma Mwanyota were shot dead in cold blood at different locations.
The assailants, who were riding on motorcycles, are said to have broken into Mr Mwanguze’s house using a hammer.

The suspects later proceeded to the houses of Mr Mwasanite and Mr Mwanyota and killed them too.

The three elders were all shot in the head and none of their relatives could come out openly and explain what exactly happened due to fear of victimisation.

Although police sources could not confirm it, the suspects are feared to be Al-Shabaab returnees who have been terrorising the area by targeting people with close links to security people.

CONDEMNED THE KILLING

Coast Regional Coordinator Nelson Marwa who visited the bereaved families on Sunday condemned the killing promising that immediate action would be taken. Mr Marwa criticised members of security committee at Msambweni Sub County for sleeping on the job yet criminal cases are being reported in the area on daily basis.

“It is so sad that this incident has to happen yet we have security officers who are provided with all adequate facilities to facilitate their operations,” he said.

The coordinator directed the Kwale County Commissioner Kutswa Olaka to move his office from Kwale to Diani. He asked the commissioner to implement the directive without any delay failure to which him he would pitch a camp in the area.

“We cannot have locals being killed on daily basis yet the people who are supposed to be in charge of security are behaving as if they are in honeymoon,” he said.
Mr Marwa told the residents to share intelligence with his office in Mombasa if they had no faith in local security officers.

He added that the killing of the three elders will be followed by transfer of senior security officers in the Sub County who have been sleeping in the job.