The Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) has been a thorn to
the Kenyan government since its formation in the 1990s.The Council which is
based at the Kenyan Coast was once listed as a proscribed group by the
Government of Kenya through a Gazette notice issued last year (2010) October by
the then Internal Security minister Prof. George Saitoti (deceased) and the
Attorney General, Amos Wako declared the MRC, among 32 other groups, as illegal
and warned the public against any association with it.
However, a landmark court decision on 25th
July, 2012 by the High Court in Mombasa has lifted the ban on the
Mombasa Republican Council. A three-judge bench of Justices John Mwera, Mary
Kasongo and Francis Tuiyott ruled that the Gazette Notice that declared the MRC
illegal was unconstitutional.
Who are the MRC?
The Mombasa Republican Council was
formed with the intention of righting what they believe to be wrongs done to
the coastal people who include lack of title deeds to land and rampant
unemployment all amounting to marginalization. Due to this, the MRC has had one
clear agenda since the 1990s- Secession.
I take this humble opportunity to enlighten you as my fellow Kenyans
and the world over on what the MRC rely on for their claims of secession of
Mombasa from the Republic of Kenya...land issues, lack of employment,
discrimination in allocation of funds by Commission of Revenue Allocation under
the Chairmanship of Nick Cheserem, recent appointments at the Kenya Ports of
Authority Board by Amos Kimunya...et cetera....The documents the MRC are relying upon for their secession claims include the following...
1) Colony & Protectorate of Kenya
Sessional Paper
No.9 of 1961
The Kenya Coastal Strip
Report of the Commissioner.
2) Colonial Office
Report of the Kenya
Constitutional Conference, 1962
Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State
For the Colonies by Command of Her Majesty
April 1962....
3) Colonial Office
Report of the Kenya
Coastal Strip Conference, 1962
Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State
For the Colonies by Command of Her Majesty
April 1962....
4) KENYA CONSTITUTION
Summary of the Proposed
Constitution for Internal
Self-Government,
Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State
For the Colonies by Command of Her Majesty
March 1963....
5) KENYA COASTAL STRIP
Joint Statement by the Secretary of State
For the Colonies and the Chief Minister of Zanzibar,
Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State
For the Colonies by Command of Her Majesty
March 1963....
6) KENYA
Preparations for Independence
Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State
For the Colonies by Command of Her Majesty
July 1963....
7) KENYA COASTAL STRIP
Agreement between the Governments of the United
Kingdom, His Highness the Sultan of Zanzibar, the
Government of Kenya and the Government
Of Zanzibar
Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State
For the Colonies by Command of Her Majesty
October 1963....
History of the Coast Land Problems
The main issue the MRC has is land
which can be traced back to 1887 when Seyyid Said leased the 10mile (16km)
wide coastal strip to the Imperial British East Africa Company, which
effectively made the coastal inhabitants squatters in their own land. In
1895 an agreement was made between Great Britain and Zanzibar under the
supervision of Sultan Seyyid Hemed Bin Twain, Queen Victoria and the British
Government in which Mombasa was to remain a protectorate under the British. The
Sultan allowed the British Government to administer Mombasa for its Political
and Business activities. This agreement stipulated that the sovereignty of
Sultan would be maintained.
In 1962, just before Kenya got its
independence. There were talks on whether or not this 1895 agreement should be
altered. It was found that the coastal strip was not economically viable on its
own and that the port of Mombasa was very important to Kenya and the East
African region in general. So it was recommended that the Sultan be compensated
and the region be made officially a part of Kenya. The recommendations also
stated that the (then) new constitution recognize religious freedom that would
allow the Muslims the right to follow the Sharia Law in matters of religion and
personal status. The Sultan was assured that the Sharia Courts would continue
to function in Independent Kenya and that the authority of the Chief Kadhi
would be preserved for Muslims in matters of personal status. When it came to a
case between a Non Muslim and a Muslim, the general law would apply. So the
Sultan agreed to give up his claims to the region. So in the 1963 Lancaster
negotiations between the British and the Kenyans, the deal was sealed and the
coast’s hopes for autonomy vanished as well, despite the presence of the
Mwambao United Front group – who wanted the option of being able to secede from
Kenya and if possible join up with Zanzibar.
The government has since not revoked
this agreement. Instead, after independence, all the land was transferred to
the Government, which in turn gave the land to individuals who were not the
original area residents. This happened when a law was passed that said that the
first legislation of land will be valid and irrevocable regardless of how one
acquired the title. So the elite and influential people in government at the
time went ahead and registered themselves as the original owners of the land,
an act that resulted in the coastal people becoming squatters in land they
considered theirs.
The officials of the MRC claim to
have documents that say that there was another 1963 agreement signed by the
then Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta and his Zanzibar counterpart Mohamed Shante.
According to them, the agreement was a 50 year lease, which meant that the
government was to return the region to the indigenous people… by 2013. The MRC
Secretary General, Hamza Randu says this 1963 agreement integrated Mombasa as
an independent region in the broader Kenya and that no part of it could be
changed without the approval of the people from the protectorate.
The
MRC Ideologies
As a result, the MRC says the
coastal strip is not in need of any protection by the Kenya Government that was
inherited from Colonial Britain. It says that it has in place a structured
system, complete with a constitution, so it is ready to govern. The MRC
officials also add that it is funded by top businessmen and politicians in the
region (Mombasa).
The MRC is adamantly pushing for the
partitioning of Kenya’s territory, raising issues of marginalization,
discrimination and neglect of the coast people. The MRC does not support
the use of violence which is very true compared to other “illegal groups” known
to Kenyans.
The MRC states that despite the
coast being a major contributor to the national economy -through the Port of
Mombasa and Tourism in general, the coast people are yet to benefit from its resources
and so they are under developed as a result.
The
Kenyan Constitution 2010
The MRC has been declared
unconstitutional on the basis of the following provisions in the Constitution:
- Article 36 of the constitution guarantees the freedom of association and assembly for every person, the intent and motive of the association that one is forming is very important so that one does not contravene the spirit of the constitution. The internal security minister (deceased) pronounced MRC’s motive may cause instability and disunity in the country.
- The desire of the MRC to separate Coast Province from Kenya is unconstitutional and that is why they cannot be allowed to go on with their agenda. Article 3(2) of the Constitution states any attempt to establish a government otherwise than in compliance with this Constitution is unlawful, which the MRC seeks to do.
- Article 5 of the constitution states the Territory of Kenya consists of the territory and territorial waters comprising Kenya on the effective date, and any additional territory and territory and territorial waters as defined by an Act of Parliament. Thus an attempt to change the territory of Kenya is unconstitutional.
Effective date - is on 27th August 2010 when the constitution came
into force as per Article 260.
Article 60 of the new constitution
attempts to address the past land injustices through the enshrinement of the
principles of land policy. It provides that land shall be held, used and
managed in a manner that is equitable, efficient, productive and sustainable
in accordance to the following principles: equitable access to land;
security of land rights amongst others.
Article 67 further establishes the National
Land Commission whose functions amongst others includes initiating
investigations on its own initiative or on a complaint, into present or
historical land injustices, and then recommends appropriate redress (Article
67(e)).
Also, it is expected that the issues
raised by the MRC will be duly tackled with the establishment of a devolved
government, which is aimed at facilitating access to services. With the
division of Kenya into counties, the constitution recognizes the right of
communities to manage their affairs and further their development (allocations
are still questionable).
Conclusion
Session may not be possible but the
Mombasa Republican Council has legitimate claims which need to be addressed urgently.
However, a point to note is the manipulation of the Constitution(a skeleton document)
by Parliament by passing half-baked legislations for the implementation of the
Constitution which is not in good faith and further diminishes its supremacy.
The course of JUSTICE is still on
for the Coastal people…
”Pwani
Ni Kenya, Kunyanyaswa Si Ukenya”
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