Matiang'i heads to Coast to 'fix' insecurity

Mombasa's political leadership is on the spot after the brazen attack on Monday by a panga-wielding gang that injured at least 11 people in the Bamburi area.

Police have accused the county’s top leadership of doing little to support the fight against the deadly gangs, leaving the job to law enforcers.

“It will not help to let the police do all the work. Tackling these gangs needs collaborative efforts,” Kisauni police boss Julius Kiragu told the press on Thursday at Dog Section regional headquarters.

The embarrassment and blame come as Interior CS Fred Matiang’i, known as 'Mr Fix-It', comes to the rescue.

He will chair crucial meetings next week on the security breakdown and young criminal gangs terrorising the area.

This will be the third time this year Matinag’i has been forced to visit the Coast over security problems.

The CS is expected to arrive in Mombasa on Sunday evening or Monday morning and will meet top Coast security officers.

He is also expected to meet civil society and probably the political leadership.

Matiang's touchdown will coincide with the return of  Governor Hassan Joho from the US where he has been on county business and pleasure since July 16.

Mombasa county director of communications Richard Chacha said was in the US attending the Steering Committee of the Strong Cities Network, which he chairs.

He later flew to Beverly Hills, California.

Chacha said security was high on Joho's agenda  Joho’s agenda when he flew to the US and he issued a statement immediately after the Bamburi attack

He said the governor is looking for the best ways to counter violent extremism, radicalisation and the drug abuse and youth unemployment that have held back economic growth in Mombasa.

Mvita MP Abdulswamand Nassir and his Jomvu counterpart Badi Twalib said it is unfair to blame politicians for whatever goes wrong in Mombasa.

“There are a lot of things that we do to keep youth away from vices like drugs and crime,”  Nassir said.

Twalib said police should not use politicians as scapegoats.

“The good thing is the CS is coming. We have to sit down and have a serious talk,” he said.

Nassir said it's good that Matiang’i is coming because they will get to the bottom of things.

“We need to hear exactly what is going on because we cannot allow this to continue and have fingers pointed at the wrong people,” Nassir said.

He said police should publicly name politicians and other VIPsthey say are involved in any way in the crimes in Mombasa.

In January Matiang'i came to Mombasa and met representatives of the civil society where they poured out their anger about extrajudicial killings in the region.

Matiang’i said the killings will come to a stop. Cases have since declined.

He was again invited for Eid celebrations in Mombasa at the Eid Baraza after which he went to Lamu over security problems.

Muslims for Human Rights chair Khelef Khalifa said it is time the police become proactive and prevent crime like Monday’s gang terror attack.

“The problem is they are not proactive. They wait for things to occur before they overreact,” Khalifa said on the phone.

He said the Nyumba Kumi initiative is not as strong as it should be and it's necessary to rethink strategies to combat crime.

“The funny thing is these things always happen in the same places. This shows police are sleeping on their job. The senior officers must get out of their offices and come to the ground,” Khalifa said.

Mombasa county police commander Johnston Ipara has twice been spotted on patrol in Kiembeni and Bamburi areas since Monday’s attack.

Khalifa said top brass on the ground should not be an afterthought once violence occurs.

“It should be always,” he said.

The human rights defender said there is a breakdown in trust and communication between the police and members of the public, which should be mended.