A peaceful International Youth Day event turned violent in Mombasa on Wednesday, August 12, after suspected goons attacked and dispersed a group of youth advocates and human rights defenders outside the Mombasa County Assembly.
The delegation, organized by civil society group VOCAL Africa and its partners, had gone to the assembly to present a memorandum pushing for full implementation of the Mombasa County Youth Policy. Instead of being received by assembly officials, the group was confronted at the entrance by an aggressive crowd, some of whom carried long sticks.
VOCAL Africa Chief Executive Officer Hussein Khalid said the delegation was ambushed while marking the day. “As we were marking the International Day of Youth in Mombasa today, VOCAL Africa and partners went to present a memorandum to the Speaker of the County Assembly of Mombasa, and instead of being received, they were met with goons who beat up and injured several of the human rights defenders,” he said in a statement.
Several members of the delegation sustained injuries in the melee. Among them was the organization’s communications officer, Omar Ahmed, who suffered a bleeding head wound. Video footage from the scene shows attackers pushing and throwing punches at delegates near the assembly doors, while other clips capture men wielding long sticks as they broke up the gathering.
VOCAL Africa condemned the attack and said it would pursue legal action against those responsible. The organization has released footage from the incident and appealed to the public to help identify the attackers.
The assault adds to growing concern over the use of hired groups to disrupt civic and political activities in various parts of the country. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said in July that the government would step up operations against political goons and criminal gangs. He directed Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to intensify police action in known hotspot areas to protect citizens taking part in public affairs.
By Wednesday evening, no arrests had been reported in connection with the Mombasa attack.
