Leaders in Malindi Sub County of Kilifi County Thursday called for concerted efforts to improve security in Malindi town and its environs in order to attract tourists.
Speaking at the Cleopatra Grounds in Malindi town during the Mashujaa Day celebrations, the leaders called on residents to volunteer information that would help arrest a reported resurgence of criminal activities in the sub-county.
Of concern were increased cases of mugging, violent theft of motorcycles, and the slaying of elderly persons suspected to be practicing witchcraft. Cases of suicide among school-going children, incest, and drug addiction were also cited as among the ills in the area.
Malindi Deputy County Commissioner Thuo wa Ngugi said security officers were on high alert to arrest the situation and called on residents to cooperate with the officers in order to make the sub-county a safer place to live in.
He called upon the youth to practice restraint and respect their elderly parents, accusing them (the youth) of planning the murder of their parents for allegedly refusing to allow them to sell land to buy motorcycles.
He pointed out that grey hair does not equate to witchcraft, warning that the youth perpetrating the vice would find themselves in the same predicament when their hair starts greying.
“Do not think that you will be young forever. When you become old, you will be killed the same way you are killing your elderly parents,” Ngugi remarked after reading the President’s speech
Malindi Member of Parliament Amina Laura Mnyazi commended administrative and security officers in the sub-county, saying they had done their best to provide security in the sub-county, and urged the residents to cooperate with them.
She said she would work together with the sub-county security committee to identify hotspots with a view to installing security lights, through the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).
“It hurts me when foreign nations issue advisories to their citizens not to visit our county because of insecurity. Security is our collective duty, and I will be at the forefront to ensure that this is achieved,” emphasized Mnyazi.
She divulged that she and her fellow legislators were doing their best to ensure that the NG-CDF is not disbanded as it was instrumental in the provision of security, educational infrastructure and bursaries to needy students.
She pledged to establish a digital educational hub in the constituency to enable people wishing to further their education to do so online and reduce the cost of travelling abroad to acquire education.
The chairperson of the Malindi Sub County Peace Committee, Ms. Merab Shibyanga, called on parents to take up their responsibilities seriously and give their children sound counsel, saying this would help reduce criminal activities in the area.
She said the ills being perpetrated in society, such as the killing of older persons due to alleged witchcraft practice, were as a result of lack of proper parental guidance.
Gender activist Helder Lameck decried the increased cases of incest in the sub-county and urged residents to check their morals with a view to nurturing a healthy society.
Youth Leader Enock Baraka Jefwa said cases of suicide among school-going children were on the rise in the area and urged the youth to seek counselling services whenever they feel pressurized by life.
By Emmanuel Masha
