Around 15 people reported dead in Kenya after voters were attacked during election
During elections, which were held in the East African nation of Kenya on Monday, criminal gang members armed with machetes attacked voters at poll stations leaving approximately 15 people dead.
One of the attacks on Monday occurred on the outskirts of Kenyan city of Mombasa. Another attack against voters took place in Kilifi about 80 miles north of Mombasa. Senior police officials in Kenya blamed the attacks on a separatist movement called the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC). The MRC wanted to do away with the national vote and hold a referendum on secession.
At the election site in Kilifi, Reuters video footage showed a piece of paper on the ground with a message inscribed on it that read: ”MRC. Coast is not Kenya. We don’t want elections. We want our own country.” However, a MRC spokesman denied responsibility for the attacks and said the group only sought to achieve political change through peaceful means.
George Omondi, 33, an accountant from the Kenyan city of Kisumu told Reuters:
“Kenya is greater than any of us. Let the will of the people prevail to avert violence. We have learned from the past and should any of the contenders lose, they should accept the outcome.” (Reuters.com)
Also in the Kenyan city of Garissa, (a largely Muslim town with a large ethnic Somali population) two civilians were shot dead on late Sunday. A bomb blast, which occured in the Mandera area near the Somali border wounded four people. Kenyan police officials did not say who were behind those two incidents.
