Police ordered to deal with gangs

Police at the coast have been directed to use everything at their disposal to bring to book armed gangs responsible for a spate of killings in the region.

Coast provincial police boss Aggrey Adoli said the officers were briefed on precautions to take when dealing with weapon-wielding gangs.

“We have issued firm instructions to our officers that they should not allow anyone carrying a weapon to cause death and destroy property and they must be present in large numbers in public gatherings,” Mr Adoli said in an interview.

He added: “Our officers will use all available government equipment in their hands to protect lives and property. We don’t mean shoot-to-kill, because that is wrong under the Constitution, but we will deal with them.”

Political rally organisers have also been instructed to secure police permits three days before their events to allow police chiefs to put in place elaborate security measures.

“For private meetings, we are asking for the screening of all participants and police should be alerted in case anyone is found with weapons,” he added.

Last week, four people were killed and several others seriously injured when youth wielding machetes attacked a meeting being addressed by Fisheries Minister Amason Kingi at Mtwapa in Kilifi County.

The attack came a day after the Nation published a report that revealed the mushrooming of militia groups across the Coast region, some of them having political agenda.

Two weeks ago, a group killed a villager who had led the police to their hideout, triggering a revenge attack by the villagers during which they killed 14 gang members.

The villager stumbled on the militia in an oathing ceremony for about 30 young men in a forest in Kaloleni, Kilifi.

Three weeks earlier, an Administration Police officer was hacked to death by an unknown group of people in Simanya Village, Tiribe Division in Kwale County.

At the weekend, there was heavy security from the General Service Unit officers alongside regular and AP officers during two separate political rallies addressed by United Democratic Forum presidential aspirant Musalia Mudavadi in Kilifi County.

The regional police boss said they had reliable intelligence to link the attacks to the Mombasa Republican Council and warned the separatist outfit that they would not be allowed to continue intimidating security agencies.

He cautioned local politicians not to be quick to defend the group without critically studying their hidden agenda.

“Most leaders at the coast are seen to support MRC. The other day when Mr Kingi was attacked and his bodyguard killed, very few condemned the incident. They should unite to ask them to follow legal procedure to push their grievances.”

Mr Adoli added: “We don’t want blame games because there are a lot of people who blame others and yet they have shown little to assist us deal with criminals in our midst. We require serious public involvement through community policing.”

He challenged parents not to abdicate their responsibilities, urging them to be fully aware of the of income-generating activities their children are involved in, in order to counsel them against ill-minded people who intended to use them for crime.