By ROSELYNE OBALA
Immigration Assistant Minister Francis Baya wants the Government to give dialogue a chance with the outlawed Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) group.
Mr Baya said it’s the only way to get an amicable solution to the group’s grievances and avert violence ahead of the general elections.
MRC is a group seeking the secession of the coastal region arguing that the Government has ignored them.
“Coast youths are crying foul. Even though I don’t agree with the way they are going about the matter, the Government must get a way to dialogue with the group,” he said.
The minister said the youth feel they have been left out of this Government.
“The group’s decision to see secession is not acceptable but this is because they feel as if they are not part of this country, Kenya,” he said.
Baya argued that when people fight back, there is always a reason behind their acts.
He noted that youths in Mombasa have been left out in key Government appointment despite promises to create jobs for them.
“We have many resources in the Coast, which are our source of revenue like hotels and the port yet you find appointments being done discriminatorily,” he noted.
The minister while speaking in Lugari said when it comes to employment, the locals are not considered.
“We want this region not to be isolated and the Government must urgently move in to address the grievances raised by the group,” he added.
He warned that such issues should he handled with cautions as it could lead to divisions.
“Its at this moment that Kenyans should remain united as we gear towards the general elections. Issues that could cause divisions should be dealt with properly,” he reiterated.
President Mwai Kibaki in his address to the nation, rejected the group's separatist calls, maintaining that the coast region has been part of, and is part of, and will remain part of the Republic of Kenya.
The MRC alleges that the predominantly Muslim Mombasa region is not part of Kenya arguing that it has been neglected by the central Government.
