Thousands advised to leave Kenya’s restive north
6 UNIONS REPRESENTING GOVERNMENT STAFF ISSUE ALERT AMID INSURGENT ATTACKS
Thousands of Kenyan civil servants were yesterday urged to leave troubled regions hit by a wave of insurgent attacks, as protesters in the capital demanded greater security. The warnings by six unions to members to leave the restive northeast, as well as the protests in Nairobi, follow a weekend attack which saw 28 non-Muslims executed on a bus.
The executions near the northeastern town of Mandera, whose victims included 24 teachers and three medics, were claimed by Somalia’s Al Qaida- affiliated Al Shabab militant group.
Unions representing more than 25,000 doctors, dentists, civil servants and primary and secondary school teachers have advised members to leave the region until security forces can ensure their safety.
“Their lives are clearly in danger,” Kenya Union of Teachers leader Wilson Sossion told the Daily Nation newspaper.
“We have already lost enough members of the teaching force and can’t risk any further.”
The call by unions to leave areas, including the main towns of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera, affects more than 10,000 teachers and 16,500 civil servants.
Protest march
In Nairobi, more than 100 protesters marched through the city centre, chanting slogans demanding police “stop the killings”, before sitting down outside the main government office complex.
Others waved wooden crosses to represent those killed in a string of attacks, amid chants calling for the resignation of the police chief and interior minister.
Many wore tops with a slogan “Tumechoka” — “we are tired” in Swahili — and a message reading, “Mr President, we need your action on security.”
“This government has failed to manage security, people are being killed everywhere and we don’t see action,” activist Boniface Mwangi said.