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Kenyan police on Saturday extended a dawn to dusk curfew in Lamu County in order to help restore peace amid crackdown on radicalised Muslim youth behind a spate of insecurity in the coastal region.
Inspector General of Police David Kamaiyo told journalists in Nairobi that the curfew will run from Nov. 23 to Dec. 24 to allow the ongoing security operations in the county.
"Every person residing within Lamu County is directed to remain indoors during the period the curfew order is in force except with a written permit granted by the area police county commander," Kamaiyo told journalists in Nairobi.
"However the curfew in respect of the Lamu Island will be lifted during celebrations for the Maulid religious festival that will take place between Nov 27 -30," he said.
The police chief said after the festival, the island will also immediately be enjoined in the curfew as has been before.
This is the fourth time the police have extended the curfew since the Al-Shabaab militant group attacked the area in June and resulted in the deaths of at least 90 people.
The move sparked tension in the tourism resort county of Lamu as transport and business activities came to a standstill for the second consecutive day following demonstrations by residents over the ongoing curfew.
The residents are demanding the lifting of the curfew now on its fourth month, saying the move was hurting the economy of the area and could lead to loss of jobs.
But Kimaiyo said the latest extension comes under the backdrop of the security situation in the coastal region which has not fully normalized. "We are still having alerts of insecurity in a number of areas," Kimaiyo said.
He noted that some people are planning attacks through youths who they continue to radicalize. The curfew imposed after a series of attacks by suspected Al-Shabaab militia between mid-June and early July.
"This is a situation that we must bring under control and the curfew is therefore one of the strategies we are using to minimize the operations of the criminals elements and eventually arrest them," Kimaiyo said.
He noted that every citizen has a civic responsibility to defend Kenya by whatever means and the newly introduced community policing initiative provides the platform for the citizens to join hands with security agencies to stamp out crime.
The extension comes as simultaneous security operations in various parts of Mombasa that resulted in the closure of four mosques this week. Enditem
