Civil society organizations and youth in Mombasa are increasing pressure on Governor Abdulswamad Nassir, planning protests to demand transparency and accountability. They have rejected the proposed national dialogue, which was slated to start yesterday, arguing that it lacks clarity on venue and participants and citing ongoing issues such as extrajudicial killings.
“We cannot sit in a dialogue with people we don’t know. They also don’t know the people who were demonstrating on the streets,” said Edwin Shamir, a youth activist in Mombasa.
“We are tribe-less and leaderless and there is no need for dialogue. We only need the government to implement the Constitution.”
Addressing reporters in Mombasa, the organisations and youth urged Nassir to brace for bold criticism over allegations of misappropriation of funds and nepotism in his government.
“We are coming down to counties. A lot of things are happening at the county level … Nepotism is thriving in Mombasa County where unqualified people have been employed from specific communities,” Shamir said.
“The percentage of youth they purport to have employed does not exist. In fact, they don’t even have the payroll number.
“We will occupy the county offices so that justice should not just end at the national government level but also at the county level.”
Yesterday, Nassir posted on his social media pages that he will be available to engage young people in Mombasa at the Technical University of Mombasa on Saturday.
Moses Santos, another activist and youth leader, emphasised the need for genuine public participation that includes young people, suggesting the use of social media platforms for forums.
“We want to see the public participation forums taken to X Spaces because that’s where the majority of young people are,” Santos said.
“We understand the county has been hiding behind shoddy public participation forums that deliberately exclude the youth to get away unchallenged. Most Gen Zs and millennials don’t take part in public participation organised by counties. They usually mobilise their own people secretly to pass issues that don’t make sense.”
He pointed out the recent hike in parking fees in Mombasa from Sh150 to Sh200 as a result of these stage-managed forums. Daniel Osama, another youth in Mombasa, echoed similar sentiments.
