AFRICA : KENYA : BISHOPS DEEPLY CONCERNED BY GOVERNMENT

CISA NEWS REPORT:
Posted by admin on Saturday, May 5, 2012 · Leave a Comment

NAIROBI, May 4, 2012 (CISA) –Catholic Bishops of Kenya are deeply concerned by secession calls that have gained momentum along the country’s Coast Province.

During a press conference at the Resurrection Garden in Karen, Nairobi on May 3, the bishops said in their statement, “We call on the government to find out what causes groups of Kenyans to give up on this beautiful country. In the same vein, we condemn attempts by politicians to prey on vulnerable youth for their own selfish ends.”

A group calling itself Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) has been demanding for secession of the coastal region from mainland Kenya, claiming that successive governments have marginalized the area. The Kenyan government has reacted by outlawing the group and arresting its members.

Meanwhile, a Muslim cleric has described the secession calls as a product of frustrations facing people living along the Kenyan Indian Ocean coast.

Sheikh Ahmed Set, currently the coordinator of Inter-Religious Council in Isiolo told CISA in an interview on May 4, 2012 that poverty, unemployment and landlessness are some of grievances that are triggering secession calls along the Kenyan coast.

Sheikh Set said, “It is just out of frustrations and inequality of resources that is propelling these demands. The coastal people feel reduced to servants of other people.”

He called on the government to set up a special committee to look into these grievances.

“I feel that the biggest question is land. Powerful people have grabbed most of the prime land to develop into tourism hubs and the indigenous people are living as squatters in their own land,” said the Sheikh.

The Muslim cleric however faulted the secession calls saying, “It is not in order for the coastal people to call for separation because historically Pwani is part of Kenya.”

SOURCE: CISA