Coast Regional Commissioner Nelson Marwa. [Photo/the-star.co.ke]
Members of the Boni community in Lamu County have demanded for an apology from Coast Regional Commissioner Nelson Marwa over claims that the community harbours Al Shabaab militants.
Boni elders on Tuesday said Marwa’s claims that the community collaborates with Al Shabaab fighters in destabilising the country were baseless.
They said the community “has never and will never cooperate with criminals who kill and wreck havoc.”
The elders said since the launch of Operation Linda Boni in 2015, the community has cooperated with security agencies by sharing critical information that has helped the military fight the militants.
“We are angered by the allegations made by Marwa. Security officers might start harassing us, especially the KDF. We are already afraid of the militants as it is—and now we have to live in fear of the KDF too,” said Ali Abdi one of the community’s elders.
On July 6, a contingent of security personnel were deployed to the expansive Boni Forest to hunt suspected Al Shabaab fighters said to be hiding there.
The deployment followed the killing of three police officers at Pandanguo police station in Lamu the previous day.
KDF fighters bombed the forest as they continued to pursue the terrorist who have their base in Somalia.
Questions were raised over the involvement of the local community in the Shabaab attack after reports emerged that the militants had prayed at a local Mosque before they attacked Pandanguo police station.