Kaya elders at a January press conference. [Photo/ the-star.co.ke]
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and civil rights groups met Kaya elders on Thursday amid claims the dreaded Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) had re-emerged and was asking people not to vote.
MRC spokesperson Richard Lewa in December 2016 said he would move to court to stop IEBC operations in Kwale before the August poll. He said, then, that MRC maintains Pwani Si Kenya’ and IEBC services were therefore not needed in the region.MRC secretary general Randy Nzai on Thursday, however, denied the claims saying they were engineered by government with the motive of harassing the group’s members.“No leader of the group has told people not to vote. We all know participating in the election is a democratic right,” Nzai said in an interview with the Star on Thursday.He said MRC appreciates peace and has no intentions of coercing people not to vote. The NCIC, Human Rights Agenda, Malaika Foundation and the Kaya elders’ meeting took place at Hill Park Hotel.It aimed at promoting the elders’ preparedness for the August poll as well as denounce violent extremism.Kwale is among counties classified by the NCIC as violence hotspots due to its cosmopolitan nature and MRC’s existence.Coast region Kaya Council of Elders chairman Abdallah Mnyenze said the elders will play their part in ensuring peace prevails before during and after the election.“We will accept a president elected by Kenyans because we have not taken sides with anyone so far,” he said.Darius Isaboke from Malaika Foundation said the elders will help government champion for peace during the polls.County Commissioner Kutswa Olaka said government will not allow MRC to stop citizens from exercising their democratic right of voting to elect their leaders.NCIC commissioner Roba Sharamo said elders should be given the attention they need because they play an instrumental role in the pursuit for peace.Human Rights Agenda chief executive Yusuf Lule said meeting with Kaya elders provided an avenue for preaching peace.