News 

Saturday, June 21, 2014 

Killings claim more lives at Kenya's coast

NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenya experienced yet another round of killings last week even as the government and opposition continued exchanging jibes over who was responsible.

 Close to 70 people were reportedly killed in the Coastal region of Mpeketoni in Lamu County when armed assailants descended on a whole town shooting indiscriminately in scenes reminiscent to last year’s Westgate Shopping Mall attacks. 

The area is approximately 100 kilometres from Mombasa, which is Kenya’s tourist hotspot, marking another serious dent to Kenya’s already limping tourism industry. 

 Whereas Somali based terrorist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the heinous attack, the government led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto accused the opposition spearheaded by former Prime Minister RailaOdinga for the skirmishes.

 “This is not a terrorist attack; it is the work of some political players who are keen on causing anarchy and disharmony in the country. I want to warn them that Kenya will never go down the road of political violence again,” said President Kenyatta in a live address to the nation Tuesday.

 Raila’s Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) is currently undertaking countrywide public rallies aimed at informing the masses of the misdeeds of the Kenyatta government. The opposition has vowed to pile pressure on the government to call for a national dialogue where issues such as runaway insecurity, corruption, tribalism and other issues affecting the country should be addressed.

The president and his handlers have on the other hand refused to hold the dialogue forum seeing it as an arm-twisting tactic that will see Raila and his opposition henchmen absorbed into government like was the case during the Grand Coalition Government that ended months of bloodshed in the 2007 post-election violence.

 The country’s tourism sector is the biggest casualty of the ongoing political unrest and insecurity with most hotels reporting empty beds and massive cancellations on security grounds.

 Al-Shabaab has sustained a spate of bloody attacks on various parts of Kenya, especially Nairobi, Mombasa, other major towns and the North Eastern region. The terrorists have time and again warned President Kenyatta that Kenya won’t know peace until it withdraws its forces in the lawless Somalia. 

By Humphrey Liloba, Saturday, June 21st, 2014