Mob justice on rise in 'banana county' Mombasa

Mob justice in Likoni, Kisauni and Magongo areas are turning Mombasa into a "banana county", rights group Haki Africa has warned.

Haki's rapid response officer Mathias Shipeta told the Star on Sunday that if nothing is done to stop residents from taking the law into their hands, some parts of the county will be ruled by the mob.

Haki Africa has recorded more than seven cases of mob 'justice' in four months alone in Mombasa.

On Friday, two suspected juvenile criminal gang members were lynched by a mob in Likoni.

Adam Juma, 15, and his unidentified partner were cornered by the mob, who accused them of terrorising residents.

They were lynched and their bodies were taken to the Coast General Hospital mortuary/ Juma's body was released for burial at Vyemani in Likoni.

“This is the just latest of the series of incidences we have recorded,” Shipeta said.

“There are many more that go unreported. I came across a case where the son of a pastor was almost lynched by angry boda boda riders for knocking down one of them in Likoni.” 

The cases, Haki Africa said, are mostly a result of police inaction, shoddy investigations, a rogue society and exhausted parents.

The lobby accused police of carrying out inadequate investigations leading to the release of criminals for lack of evidence. Police say their cases are usually weakened because no one is willing to be a witness.

“Many times the residents do a good job by arresting the suspects and bringing them to us at the station. But then they all leave and no one is willing to provide a witness or to be the complainants in court,” an officer based at Bamburi police station said.

This reluctance has tied their hands and forced them to release the suspects.

And when the residents see the suspect they arrested back in the neighbourhood, they blame the police, often accusing them of having taken bribes to release them, the officer said.

“That is not usually the case,” Kisauni deputy county commissioner Kipchumba Ruto said.

On the contrary, Ruto said, the crime has actually declined.

He attributed the reduction to the close collaboration between the security apparatus and the community through the Nyumba Kumi initiative and strengthened community policing,among other initiatives launched by the National Police Service.

Ruto said last year, mob justice cases had become common in Kisauni because of the criminal gangs that attacked, maimed and killed residents. 

“This was mostly in areas like Kajiweni but it has since ceased after we involved the community more in matters involving security,” Ruto told the Star on phone.

But Shipeta said, “Police should urgently pursue matters to do with criminal to avoid killings of this nature. We equally are calling on the public to exercise restraint and report to the police instead of taking action into their own hands.”

He said police, community elders, religious leaders and the political leadership must play their roles in ensuring the county is safe and free of murder and other crimes.

“Or else, more people will die needlessly,” Shipeta said.

In September last year, a mob lynched three suspected gangsters in Kisauni.

Mombasa police commandant Johnston Ipara said the public cornered them at Junda and set them ablaze.

In October, Samuel Odemba, 26, and his cousin Kennedy Onyango, 24, were beaten and burnt alive after a boda boda rider mistakenly identified themforthieves in Mtopanga.

In November, a 21-year-old man was lynched by a mob in Shonda, Likoni, after he was found slaughtering a goat he was suspected of stealing.

(Edited by R.Wamochie)