A peace lobby has accelerated its efforts to bridge the gap between security agents and the community, in a bid to maintain peace and advance for secured habitable environment for all, in Mombasa county.
The Kenya Community Support Centre (KECOSCE), a nongovernmental organisation working towards enhancing security and peaceful coexistence among communities in the Coastal region of Kenya, has invested in uniting the communities and police officers in ensuring smooth and strong working relationship.
Speaking during a forum that brought together police officers from Nyali and Kisauni sub counties in Mombasa recently, an official from KECOSCE, in charge of a peace and security response program ‘Early Warning Early Response’ ( EWER), Kelvin Barasa maintained that though the forums to engage and encourage locals in Kisauni and Nyali Sub County to work together to curtail insecurity have been on going, it was deemed necessary for police officers to attend the forums so that they directly respond to very many concerns from locals.
“These forums where all stakeholders are involved has resulted into actions with both police and locals taking responsibilities to contain insecurity in their respective areas,” said Mr Barasa.
He appealed to Kiembeni and Nyali residents to immediately report any insecurity cases and make a close follow up so that authorities pursue such cases and ensure those involved are nabbed and charged.
“We realised that the Community policing aspect needed a fresh reconstitution and ensure the members conduct regular meetings since these meetings will reveal the hotspots areas and call for urgent actions from authorities,” added Barasa.
Concerns
Locals, further raised concerns over the laxity and mistreatment they receive from Kiembeni police officials and urged the religious, community leaders and KECOSCE officials to follow up on the issue so that Kiembeni police station serves the community around in a better and accepted guidelines.
The locals however, noted that Nyali police station has been working closely with community policing and other stakeholders, a situation that has improved security in the Sub county.
“As Community policing officials we use to receive backlash from police despite us working towards safeguarding our communities. The situation however transformed specifically in Nyali, we are now working with police to achieve a common goal of ensuring Nyali Sub county is habitable for all,” said a Community policing official from Kongowea, Steve Biko.
On her part, Gender and Community activist from Ziwa la Ng’ombe area in Nyali, Miriam Kimemia noted that Nyali Sub County is relatively calm following collaboration between police and locals in curtailing insecurity.
“We are now remaining with very few young men whom we are working closely with security agents to ensure they are arrested and charged. We need a very safe environment for us all,” said Kimemia.
[Some of the police officers present during the Peace and Security forum conducted at KECOSCE offices in Nyali, Mombasa. The officers from Nyali and Kisauni Sub counties promised a collaborative initiave between them and stakeholders in a bid to curtail insecurity in the two Sub counties. Photo/Kelvin Barasa/October, 22, 24].
Police officers from Nyali and Kisauni Sub counties present at the forum promised to work closely with community and religious leader as well as peace and security activists to mitigate insecurity in the specified areas.
The Peace and Security forums spearheaded by KECOSCE are ongoing in Nyali and Kisauni Sub counties.
