Lamu County Commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo during a past interview. [Photo/ the-star.co.ke]
Police in Lamu have denied harassing residents in their fight against suspected al-Shabaab militia said to be hiding in Boni Forest.This comes after a section of residents at Koreni village in Lamu West accused police of using excessive force when carrying out Operation Linda Boni, which was launched by the late Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery in 2015.Linda Boni Operation Director Joseph Kanyiri and Lamu County Commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo have, however, dismissed the allegations, saying police have only been concentrating on homes suspected of hiding criminals after receiving information from the relevant authorities.The two said police have been on a mission to recover illegal firearms from villagers in a bid to reduce incidents of terror, which have become common in the county. They also asked residents to support the police in the fight against the suspected militiamen.The two spoke during a peace-brokering meeting that brought together residents of Koreni, Pangani and Witu on Thursday. They further thanked residents who have been supporting the security personnel in their quest to eliminate criminal gangs, and called upon those who were hiding criminals to desist from the same. “There is a great relationship between the security units here and the locals and we appreciate that. However, there are some elements who still give us a hard time making the war on al-Shabaab quite a task but we are up for it. All we want is cooperation,” said Kanyiri, as quoted by Baraka FM.