Economist David Ndii was on Saturday, November 2, locked out of Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) grounds where he had gone to deliver his much-hyped address on the state of the Mombasa's economy.
Accompanying him was law guru Yashpalghai Ghai and activist Maina Kiai, who were supposed to give a lecture on the same subject, in the event dubbed 'Okoa Mombasa Economy'.
On a video posted on Twitter by a Mombasa watchdog group on Saturday, Ndii and the other guests were seen addressing the press outside the university premises after allegedly being locked out.
Also with him were lobbyists from the region who were protesting the directive to transport cargo to Nairobi via the Standard Gauge Railway, which was denying them much-needed revenue.
The organisers expressed regret at being looked out of the venue, stating that the reasons for the inconvenience were not well justified.
"We have met here because we have been denied entry into the hall to debate devolution and SGR issues. We had everything in order and had paid up and obtained receipts, but come yesterday in the evening, they called us and told us that the meeting had been broken due to security issues," a representative from Muslims Human Rights Commission (MUHURI) complained.
The determined group, however, decided to address a few issues outside the institution and vowed to organize another event in the near future.
"These are not the Moi days. We shall not be cowered. We are determined to take them to court. We are going to discuss all the issues plaguing the people and we will not be intimidated at all," the MUHURI head narrated.
Ndii, however, went ahead with his address outside the Technical University of Mombasa, where he shed light on the debt crisis in the country.
He also dismissed the government's idea to extend the Standard Guage Railway to Naivasha, stating that it was a moot project and a total waste of taxpayers money.
"We as the taxpayers of Kenya are paying for a project that is of no benefit for the common mwananchi. There is no reason, other than private greed, of powerful people to enforce that contract and shift the port logistics from Mombasa. This is state capture," he explained.
