• MP says area will suffer if declared an operations zone, like parts of Boni Forest and Mt Elgon.
• Last week, a training camp was dismantled where 50 MRC members were suspected to be training to make trouble.
Kaloleni MP Paul Katana has called the on Mombasa Republican Council to adopt dialogue to resolve their grievances.
Speaking in Kaloleni on Sunday, Katana said he is willing to listen to the once-banned MRC members and forward their grievances to the government.
“I am sure MRC have genuine concerns but they are using the wrong method to deliver their grievances. If they cannot tell the government what they want, let them come to me and I will listen to them. What I am able to address I will do immediately and the rest I will make sure is delivered to relevant authorities for action,” Katana said.
He expressed fears many innocent people will be harassed if the government turns it into an operations zone.
“Let us look at Lamu and learn from Mount Elgon. These operations will disrupt our daily activities and harm our economy,” he said.
He also advised them to use religious leaders and any other leaders they can trust to communicate with the government.
Several crude weapons and traditional paraphernalia were seized during the operation.
Kaloleni subcounty police commander Kennedy Osando said two youths and an elderly person believed to be a traditional herbalist were arrested.
Osando said police are on high alert over fears the separatist group could be resurgent.
Last year, the police in Kaloleni thwarted a plan by MRC to mount their flag in Jibana.
Kilifi south MP Ken Chonga also warned against guerilla tactics.
"Going to the forest will hurt our people the most. When a contingent of police is deployed to this area they will hit everyone who comes their way. The government should also go slow on the group as we try to engage them in dialogue to know exactly what their problem is,” Chonga said.
The MRC was formed in 1999 to address perceived political and economic discrimination against the people of the Coast region.
The group has been calling for the separation of the coastal region from the rest of the country.
Their call for secession emanates from the 1895 and 1963 agreements transferring the 10-mile strip of land along the coast to the government of Kenya from Zanzibar.
The group rejects these agreements as invalid because they were enacted without the consent of coastal stakeholders.
The group remained dormant until 2008 when they led some attacks in their call for Pwani Si Kenya.
The government declared the group an illegal organisation, together with 33 other groups. The ban was lifted after MRC contested the government's decision in court. The High Court of Mombasa lifted the ban and ruled as unconstitutional the claim the group was illegal.
Kilifi county, Kaloleni and Kilifi south subcounties have been classified as hot spots for the group.
The group went silent after an operation led by the then Kilifi county commander Douglas Kanja who is now the GSU commandant. Kanja is also behind the successful Dusit 2 attack operation.
MRC is led by Omar Mwamnuadzi who has gone missing for some years. It is not known if he is alive or dead
(Edited by R.Wamochie)