Tight security in Mombasa over festive period

By Philip Mwakio

Mombasa, Kenya: Police cordoned off key installations and churches in Mombasa yesterday as Christians gathered to celebrate Good Friday in a town that is adversely affected by rising religious tensions due to terrorism attacks.

There was significant heavy police presence in Likoni where terrorists attacked and killed six Christians on March 23. Police also patrolled Majengo and combed Islamist militant strongholds in Kisauni where militant supporters of slain radical Sheikh Sharif Abubakar alias Makaburi live. Regular and General Service Unit police mounted a nightlong clampdown on Kiembeni, Mtopanga and other crime prone slums of Mombasa. They also mounted roadblocks at Nyali Bridge to check for weapons.

There were also road blocks on Makupa Causeway on the main road from Nairobi and another in Mtwapa on the road linking Kilifi with Mombasa. A dozen tourists were yesterday arrested in a police crackdown that also netted other aliens without valid identification documents.

The heightened security follows revelations by Mombasa County Commissioner Nelson Marwa that some Mombasa tycoons were bankrolling the youth to entice them into causing chaos over the Easter festivities. And following the nabbing of tourists, the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers Coast branch issued an urgent communication to hoteliers asking them to advice their clients ( foreign hotel guests) to carry their identification papers whenever they leave their hotel premises.