Youth march for August 4 peace

Hundreds of youth in Coast Province on Wednesday marched through the streets of Mombasa to call for peace in next week’s referendum.

The peace march by youth from Mombasa, Lamu, Malindi, Kwale, Msambweni and Taita-Taveta is expected to last five days.

Flagging off the procession at Makadara grounds, Mombasa district officer Solomon Chepoton urged young people to work together with security forces in the peace campaign.

“We urge you to pass on to the police any information on people who try to organise groups to cause violence,” Mr Chepoton said.

Participants marched through the town carrying placards urging wananchi to be peaceful during and after the vote.

The campaign was organised by the Kenya Community Support Centre. At Wesley Hall in Tononoka, the youths discussed different ways of preventing violence.

Meanwhile, police are investigating a 24-member group of youths who were reported to be taking oaths to disrupt the referendum in Takaungu, Kilifi District.

The youths presented themselves to Kilifi police headquarters, saying they were fighting for their land rights, which were being violated by their leaders.

Police chief Grace Kakai on Wednesday said the group claimed some of the area leaders had colluded with prominent people to sell land in the area.

Mr Mohamed Sharriff, a member of the group, said they had only gathered to discuss what action to take to safeguard their land. The politicians, he said, had given false information to the Provincial Administration office in Takaungu to get them arrested.

He said the local administration as well as former and current politicians were working in cahoots to sell the land. He said the group supports the proposed constitution.