Vibrant Democratic Party leader Awiti Bolo has warned against the growing use of jobless youth by politicians for selfish gains.
The former Nyali MP said politicians are exploiting the youth’s vulnerability caused by poverty for political manipulation.
He said politicians were taking advantage of desperate youth to advance political interests, a trend he warned could have serious consequences ahead of next year’s general election.
“All this is because of poverty. We saw some youth being shot last Friday. Why would a young man end up being shot because of politics?” Bolo said.
He spoke on Monday after meeting two of the three victim families at Mama village in Mombasa.
Bolo described Friday’s shooting as a classic example of politicians exploiting jobless youth for their own interests.
One person was shot in the leg while two others suffered shrapnel grazes after the security detail attached to Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir fired shots to disperse rowdy youth who had attempted to forcefully engage the governor.
Nassir was leaving Bomu Stadium after presiding over a Stawisha Fund function for women when the youth stopped him.
He alighted from his vehicle to address them, but the group became impatient and turned rowdy, with some heard chanting anti-Nassir slogans.
Police investigating the incident have alleged that a rival politician could have had a hand in the chaos, saying the youth appeared unwilling to listen to the governor despite having stopped him ostensibly to speak with him.
As the situation became increasingly tense, Nassir’s security detail swiftly shielded him and escorted him back into his vehicle before firing four shots into the air.
When the youth remained undeterred, the security officers fired towards the ground as a more severe warning.
Security experts have said one of the bullets could have ricocheted off the cabro surface and struck Sammy Owino in the leg.
Owino and his mother Gladys Ochola, however, warned politicians on Saturday against using their misfortune to score political points.
They said that despite several politicians using the incident to attack Nassir, the governor was the only politician who had visited them at the hospital.
Bolo said Nassir should ensure that policies and programmes are in place to guarantee the security of residents.
“It is the governor who should have policies and programmes in place to ensure security of the county is guaranteed,” Bolo said.
He said Mombasa must establish programmes to address youth unemployment and poverty so that young people do not easily fall prey to politicians seeking to use them for selfish interests.
“The police authorities must take action. Investigations should be thorough and swift and action taken against those who fired the injurious shots,” Bolo said.
He also called for better training of security personnel on when to use firearms and when to exercise restraint.
Bolo said Friday’s incident was not an isolated case, questioning why young people were repeatedly injured whenever politicians faced criticism.
“We should be told why whenever someone faces criticism, some youth must be injured. Politicians must have thick skins to take criticism positively,” he said.
He linked the incident to a wider goon culture that has emerged across political activities as campaigns for next year’s general elections begin.
“Police must be able to deal with the goon culture that is creeping into our political arena, which is very dangerous,” Bolo said.
He added that if the police were unable to contain political goons, political parties should be allowed to officially have their own security groups to protect their functions.
“Because the police are showing signs that they have failed to deal with the goons, whom have been seen to work in the full glare of police officers who have done nothing to stop them,” Bolo said.
James Asaka, a Luo community leader in Mombasa, said it was unfortunate that the county was slowly becoming a place where youth could be shot over political disagreements.
He said such incidents paint a bad picture of Mombasa and its political and security leadership.
“If the investigations we are told are being conducted do not yield any meaningful action that can be seen by residents, then it will send a different message altogether,” Asaka said.
