Mombasa: The Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) has announced plans to escalate its decades-long campaign for coastal self-governance to international bodies, accusing the government of repeatedly defying court rulings that have upheld the legitimacy of the movement and its claims over the coastal region.
According to Kenya News Agency, MRC leader Franklin Ngumbo stated that the group had already written to the United Nations, the African Union, the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice, after exhausting every available domestic legal avenue. Ngumbo highlighted that despite favorable court rulings, which affirmed the MRC’s right to self-governance without government interference, these decisions have not been recognized by the authorities.
Ngumbo emphasized that courts had ruled in favor of the MRC on at least two separate occasions, first in 1990, and again in 2010, with a further ruling in 2016 reaffirming the council’s legal standing. However, the Kenyan government has continued to dismiss these rulings, opting instead to make appeals rather than implementing the decisions.
The MRC leader demanded the immediate release of all members currently detained, arguing that their imprisonment contradicts binding court decisions. He also urged the government to permit the movement to hold peaceful meetings without police interference, asserting that the MRC adheres to legal processes and expects the government to do the same.
MRC member Mamambuche Morgan reported that although the group was declared a legitimate organization in 2010, authorities continue to treat it as illegal. She described ongoing harassment, surveillance, and torture faced by members attempting to convene, expressing exhaustion from these actions.
The MRC bases its claim to coastal self-governance on historical grounds, asserting that the coastal strip, tracing back to the Sultanate of Zanzibar and the British Protectorate established in 1888, was a distinct governing entity before its transfer to Kenya at independence. The group argues that this transfer, made through an agreement between the governments of Zanzibar, Britain, and Kenya under Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta, lacked consent from coastal strip dwellers.
Omar Mwamnuadzi, the MRC founder, according to Ngumbo, first became aware of these historical claims while in Canada. He subsequently returned to mobilize coastal communities based on the documented evidence he encountered.
