Mpeketoni attacks were not politically instigated, report reveals

Haki Africa has said that the Mpeketoni killings on the nights of June 15 and 16 that left 65 people dead was a terrorist attack and not politically instigated as alleged by Ole Lenku and President Kenyatta.

The Coast based human rights organization has released a detailed, 17-page report which explains that investigations on the showed the killings were carried out by the Somali Al Shabaab militants.

The report rubbished President Kenyatta's allegations that an area political network was responsible for the attacks targeting a certain community for ethnic cleansing.

"In our opinion, prima facie evidence that we have come across gives more credence to the Al Shabaab claims than to those of the President," said Hussain Khalid, executive director of Haki Africa.

After the attack, President Kenyatta  rushed to national television and declared that Al Shabaab were innocent. He instead alleged that the attacks, executed in two nights, were well-planned, orchestrated and politically motivated campaign against a certain community which he did not mention.

Lamu governor Issa Timamy has since been arrested and charged on suspicion of involvement in the attack. He was released on Sh5 million cash bail after the court ruled that the government had failed to prove he should be detained for further investigation.

Speaking during the launch of the report, Khalid said they had established that some of the attackers were of Somali origin.

The report said that all the witnesses and survivors interviewed said the language used by the attackers included Somali.

“At the same time, no witness or survivor reported political overtones or stereotyping coming from attackers,” the report explains.

The report further observes that Mpeketoni was not the first Al Shabaab attack in the Lamu area, citing the abduction of a French tourist in October 2011 in Manda by the same militants.

It noted that Somalia-based al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it was retaliation for violence by the Kenyan Defence Forces in Somalia.

Khalid accused Kenyan politicians of using the insecurity problem to gain political mileage. The government rushed to judgment before an investigation was completed and immediately blamed the opposition in an example of politicizing security, Khalid said.

The rights organization urged improved security by devolving security management to the counties.