As the Secretary General of the Central Organization of Trade Unions, COTU (K), I am stunned by demands made by the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) spokesman Mohammed Rashid Mraja that l retract Claims allegedly made to the effect that the MRC is an illegal entity as well as provide evidence of the group’s involvement in the recent chaos that caused Mombasa failure to which, according to the group, l risk being sued.
However, these to me sounds bemusing since the issue of whether the MRC is illegal or otherwise has at no time been my obsession nor have l ever made any utterances to the effect that this is an illegal group but what l am on record to have stated and maintained has been, and l still stand by this position that Coastal region is part and parcel of Kenya and the slogan “Pwani si Kenya” is misleading as well as misplaced.
This is a position as COTU (K) we cannot retract nor re-ward and we insist that whoever embraces this slogan should be viewed alien to the Kenya nation and ignored as it is such utterances that are likely to build tension and animosity in a region that is already facing numerous security challenges.
Consequently, l find it strange to apologize other claims that are equally strange to me and also it would be unfortunate on my part to link the recent chaos in the region, to the group when the Director of Public Prosecution has already instituted a Commission to investigate the matter.
Francis Atwoli, MBS
SECRETARY GENERAL