Malindi residents evict managers of Islamic centre

Residents of Kakuyuni in Malindi on Monday protested poor management of a mosque, an Islamic school and a hospital built by a donor.

They said Markaz Muallafatul Oulub Islamic Centre has been messed up by managers who are intimidating residents.

Residents accused two managers of misusing cash that led to the collapse of the Islamic school and hospital. The residents evicted the managers saying they (managers) want to control the mosque. The managers returned with police officers. 

Resident Bishamba Ali Athman told journalists at the facility that she donated land for the project and is disappointed.  

Athman said the idea behind the project was to encourage people to join Islam and that is why she gave out her land. She said greedy managers had destroyed the project.

“We gave out the land for the project to help the community. A donor built the mosque, school and a hospital, bought a maize-grinding machine and a tuk tuk. But the administrators misused everything," she said.

Journalists went to the centre which is closed and inactive for more than two years.

Village elder Athman Ramathan said the community did not want the administrators from Malindi to run the institution as they had lost faith in them.

He said the community was not benefitting from the project because administrators were enriching themselves from donations.  Ramathan said it is not acceptable.

He asked why administrators should bring police officers to shoot in the air and arrest locals who were at the institution rightfully.

(Edited by R.Wamochie)