Fears of MRC return as 91 arrested at ‘oathing’ event
Police officers display items, among them weapons and a flag, belonging to members of the proscribed Mombasa Republican Council on March 26, 2015. Its members are slowly regrouping.
What you need to know:
- Police report indicated that the operation was conducted by officers from DCI and GSU.
- The group is reported to have slaughtered a cow and goats and were having a feast.
The arrest of suspected members of the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) has sparked concerns of a return of the secessionist group.
Police in Mombasa on Tuesday arrested 91 suspected members of the group in Mirironi village while allegedly administering oaths inside a church. Earlier reports had put the number of those arrested at 200.
On Wednesday, a police report indicated that the operation was conducted by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the General Service Unit (GSU).
The group is reported to have slaughtered a cow and goats and were having a feast.
On Monday night, sources told the Nation, the group gathered in Mwamtsama forest for their annual celebrations, which are reportedly always marked in October but were pushed forward due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After their night vigil, the group walked to Mwisho wa Matatu Mikanjuni village in Jomvu constituency to meet their leader, ‘King’ Mwana wa Tsui, whom police officially identified as Ambari Seda.
Seda is reported to have jumped bail after being arrested and held at Rabai Police Station. A warrant of arrest was later issued against him, according to police reports.
On Tuesday, the group of men and women, both young and elderly, walked — while carrying sticks and dressed in Mijikenda traditional clothing — around the village chanting their trademark “Pwani si Kenya” slogan.
Seda was set to address the group in Rabai in Kilifi County, reliable sources told the Nation. He rode on a horse while flanked by his followers through Kwa Mbaji, Jitoni, Mbuyu wa Chapa, and Mwamtsama villages.
Stop shedding blood
While addressing locals in Mwana wa Tsui, Seda claimed that he had a prophesy that asked him to stop shedding blood but use amicable ways to seek for solutions to their grievances: “From today, MRC will not pick a panga to go and fight ... we must respect life.”
Villagers who spoke to the Nation called Seda a “calm, harmless man”. Asked whether the group’s presence had brought fear to the village, Khamis Mkauma, a local, said: “We do not find anything scary about them.”
Coast regional commissioner John Elungata said the group has become more of a nuisance than a danger.
Asked whether the government is concerned about the re-emergence of the group ahead of the elections, Mr Elungata said the group has always tried to recruit members every year, and not necessarily election years.
“It has few adherents that is why it tries to recruit and hold members by oathing. They tried it last year in Kilifi and Kwale, but were thwarted,” said Mr Elungata.
Interestingly, police said the suspects would merely be charged with, among other offences, flouting the regulations meant to curb the spread of Covid-19.
