Slain Mombasa tycoon buried amid heavy police presence
Mombasa tycoon Mohamed Shahid Butt was Sunday buried amid tension, heavy police presence and condemnation from political leaders in Mombasa.
Mourners carrying the casket arrived at the Cutchi Sunni Muslims Jamat Corp. Wakfu cemetery at Guraya soon after afternoon prayers before special prayers were conducted inside a mosque within the cemetery compound.
The pall-bearers carried the body to the grave at an inner area of the compound which journalists were barred from accessing.
Relatives, friends and business partners thronged the venue and talked in low tones as a truck full of regular police and a land cruiser full of Administration Police officers patrolled the scene.
Nyali MP Mr Hezron Awiti Bollo, Mvita MP Mr Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir and Embakasi South MP Mr Irshad Sumra were at the burial.
The leaders were alarmed by the spate of killings in the Coast region.
Mr Nassir said Parliament is collecting 88 signatures from MPs to have Interior Cabinet Secretary Mr Joseph Ole Lenku sacked.
“The process has already been approved and very soon we shall have the signatures from Parliament to have Mr Ole Lenku sacked. It is the only way since calls to President Uhuru Kenyatta to sack him have been ignored,” he said.
“Insecurity is a big challenge in Mombasa. It is like a movie. We are giving the security agents one month to rectify things, enough is enough,” he said.
Extra-judicial killings
Mr Sumra described the deaths as extra-judicial killings and called for a radical overhaul of the security apparatus in the Coast.
“Prominent businessmen, religious leaders, even police officers are being killed every time with the government only promising investigations which never bear fruit. Is the police involved?" he asked.
The leaders accused Mombasa County Commissioner Mr Nelson Marwa for sleeping on the job. Mr Marwa has however been blaming the Governor Mr Ali Hassan Joho.
Mr Nassir said allegations that Joho was releasing suspected criminals after their arrest were baseless, saying those arrested “are usually petty villagers” while the real killers were not apprehended.
Mr Awiti said in the past two years, more than 30 prominent people in Mombasa County have been killed, with the government only promising to investigate the deaths.
The leaders appealed to Mr Marwa to call for a meeting of politicians, religious leaders, representatives of the civil society and other stakeholders to dialogue on the security challenges facing the county.
