WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2014

When angry crowd humiliated Lenku - VIDEO

In Summary

  • Nothing much had been going on in the town that morning. When news circulated that the security team would be going there, many showed up to listen to what they had to say.
  • Every time Mr Lenku asked for an opportunity to speak, the crowd shouted him down, saying all they wanted was to see results immediately.
By JOHN NGIRACHU 
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A trip to Mpeketoni turned out to be a nasty and humiliating surprise for Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku and the security chiefs in his train when they were shouted down by angry survivors of the attack that claimed 49 lives.

Public anger was palpable when the military helicopter carrying Mr Lenku and his team landed at Lake Kenyatta Primary School on Tuesday.

"What are you doing? Tell us what steps you are taking; What is happening?" the crowd shouted at the minister.

Many were angered by what they saw as the government's slow response to the Sunday night attack.

Nothing much had been going on in the town that morning. When news circulated that the security team would be going there, many showed up to listen to what they had to say.

Administrators had set up a tent on one end and placed a table at the front, comfortable metal chairs for the people at the table and blue plastic seats for those who would sit behind them. The meeting would eventually not happen because the people crowded around the team and they could only make impromptu remarks interrupted by the shouting.

Every time Mr Lenku asked for an opportunity to speak, the crowd shouted him down, saying all they wanted was to see results immediately. He would answer them by appealing for calm and pledging that the government had taken charge of the situation.

"Do we calm down when lives are at stake?" the crowd asked.

The meeting was probably the first time the Cabinet Secretary was coming face-to-face with the public angry at him and the government he was there to represent.

The reporter present told the Nation that the situation was partly saved by Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko, who had travelled there on his own.

Mr Sonko's appearance calmed the crowd down as did the arrival of Lamu West MP Julius Ndegwa.

Mr Simon Muguro, a resident, who was pointed out as an opinion leader, told the Nation that residents were angry because there appeared to be a lack of political will to ensure they got adequate security.

He said the residents also felt that the officer in charge of Mpeketoni Police Station did not mobilise an adequate response to the attack, which started after 8.30pm on Sunday and ended, by most accounts, at about 1.30am.

The police station was among the first targets to be hit when the attack started.

"We have told Lenku that the county commander, the OCS and the OCPD should be moved. We want a neutral person in charge here," he said.

Other accounts from survivors suggested that the first police officers got to the town at 4.30am.