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                Mombasa Separatists Still Want Split from Kenya

   by Ricci Shryock

   A Kenyan separatist group is not abandoning its call for secession,
   despite constitutional reforms that could give leaders from its region
   an increased voice in the national government.
   Ali Saie, youth leader for the Mombasa Republican Council, says the
   constitutional reforms do not change their stance, because they still
   do not trust the national government. "In a way, the constitution is
   very good, if the national leaders are good," Saie said. But he said
   "we expect nothing, they're just bending the rules here."
   The Mombasa Republican Council has long advocated Kenya's coastal
   region break away and form its own independent country, saying the
   region's population is marginalized and poorly represented at the
   national level.
   As part of Kenya's new constitution, ratified in 2010 but not yet fully
   implemented, the country's regions will be divided into 47 counties
   rather than the current eight provinces.  Each county will have
   representation in a national parliament and Senate.
   But Saie said he does not believe the central leaders will allow these
   entities to have much power.
   "The constitution says we will have a governor, senator and a member of
   parliament," said Saie. "But then again, the national government is now
   forcing to put its people" as appointed county bosses, in addition to
   the elected representatives. And these bosses, he said, will interfere
   with the locally-elected officials.
   The government has banned the Mombasa Republican Council, a move Saie
   said has created a roadblock to negotiations between the group and the
   government. "We told him [Prime Minister Raila Odinga] that we can't
   talk with him until they remove the unlawful tag, the ban on our
   group."
   Shaukat Abdulrazed, a government official in Nairobi who is originally
   from the coastal region, said some of the grievances the MRC brings up
   are legitimate, such as a lack of jobs and educational opportunities in
   the region. But he does not believe separation is the answer. "Mombasa
   has always been and will always be a part of this country," he said.
   "With the new constitution, we would like to take advantage of the
   diversity we have in the country."
   The first general elections under the new constitution will be held in
   March 2013.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/mombasa_separatists_still_want_split/666854.html