On Sunday, October 20, as Mashujaa Day celebrations were ongoing at Mama Ngina Drive which has been renamed to the Water Front, police swooped in to stop an anti-Uhuru meeting kilometres away.
Reports reaching the Kenyans.co.ke newsdesk indicated that police cordoned off Tononoka grounds where a section of Mombasa residents who were dissatisfied by government SGR cargo directive was planning to hold a prayer meeting.
The meeting which was announced by traders and civil society groups threatened to boycott the Mashujaa celebrations.
However, the congregation was not possible as heavy security deployed to stop the prayer meeting.
The businessmen, on Monday, October 14, had claimed that the boycott had been necessitated by the government's refusal to reverse the order that all goods from the port needed to be transported via the SGR.
On Tuesday, October 15, Mombasa county commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo banned all planned rallies in the county on Mashujaa day.
Kitty who was speaking to the media on Tuesday, October 15, went on to explain that the weekly demonstrations by transport and logistic traders to pressure the government to withdraw a directive to have all up country-bound cargo hauled through SGR to Nairobi had been banned.
“We are inviting everybody including those with SGR grievances, we want to warn that there will be no other meeting apart from the Mashujaa Day gathering. Let them try and they will be dealt with,” warned Katiyo, as he urged residents to ignore the boycott.
