Appeal Court ruling phenomenal to MRC

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The rigidities and excesses of successive governments to use a political leverage on the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) are over, thanks to court of appeal ruling.

In this respect, one need not be a rocket scientist to discern the importance of this landmark ruling to the government.

Having said that, the timing is suspect, hence let us address ourselves to two main questions; first, why register MRC now? The second; is it out of government’s political expediency?

First impact of the ruling is to whip (MRC) into supporting the government agenda for the Coast region prior and after elections.

Second impact – pacify the mounting concerns of the MRC members regarding the disappearance their de facto leader Mr. Omar Mwamnuadzi and ensuring peace ahead of election.

The ideological protest against Kenya government in which the concept of secession was bandied about hence, the proclamation (Pwani Si Kenya) evolution in 1990’s in reaction to assimilation as one country, stand out.

Probably nothing has become as controversial a subject as the scope of MRC demands. The following narrative is propounded by them.

The controversial subject of the expiry of purported concessionary agreement of 1963 between three parties namely Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Sultanate of Oman one, Sayyid Bagash that had given the Imperial British East Africa Company the autonomy to administer coast in terms of socio-economic and political; spheres of the region for 50 years on behalf of Britain. Thereafter revert the region to natives in 2013.

The volatile issue of landlessness that cuts across Kwale, Mombasa, Taita-Taveta, Kilifi, Lamu and Tana River counties respectively, rendering native squatters.

The oppressive, discriminatory, humiliating and exploitative measures introduced by successive governments which elicited an enduring feeling of “why not” seek our own sovereignty

Their mentality that Coasterians are not educated the reason for majority of them being unemployed and end up drug abusers hence taken advantage of at the least opportunity. 

Put it another way, the following generalization by government sufficed as measure of redress towards land inequality:

Issuance of the title deed to squatters. This has been after government reached agreement with some land owners in parts of Coast, for example Mr. Evanson Waitiki’s land was bought in (Likoni) by government and distributed to natives at a subsidized fee of KSh. 180,000 with a title deed for an acre.

From the foregoing therefore, it’s appropriate to liken the government dealings with the MRC at the Coast to an experiment of a frog with hot water.

It goes like this: - When the water temperature suddenly rises the frog realizes that the environment has changed hence jumps out.

However, when temperature rises, slowly, the frog becomes kind of lethargic, sleepy and unable to jump out.

Literally, the environment in which society live has changed to make it inhabitable. So, on the basis of frog analogy; the frog is the government and the water is the environment that the society lives in (MRC).

Over and above, an erroneous conception, of support at Coast has jarred the government out of sleep, stirred series of measures, like coming up with goodies in terms of high sounding monetary value, promises of development, unveiling of projects among others in bid to shore up support.

In exercising their constitutional right to take the historical initiative, MRC members sought to authenticate their legality through courts. In this context, the phenomenal ruling speaks for itself as it underpins their cultural identity.

Last but not least, the ruling is a culmination of effort by MRC to strengthen their independence to secure their development and be assertive in their cultural characteristics by generation after another.