Nominated senator Miraj Abdillahi at Approved Ground in Likoni on Saturday / BRIAN OTIENO

Political handouts to young people are contributing to insecurity in Mombasa, Nominated Senator Miraj Abdillahi has said.

Miraj said giving youth handouts to perform dirty jobs in politics was unsustainable.

She said this was why some of them turned to crime to maintain their cash flow.

The nominated senator called for genuine empowerment projects to help young people put food on the table for their families and engage in productive activities.

“Once you give them handouts, they will be dependent on you. I know that is what politicians want. But you cannot sustain that. You are turning these young people into monsters,” Miraj said.

Speaking at Approved Ground in Likoni during a graduation ceremony for ECDE and primary school, Miraj said young people in the area needed sustainable projects they could engage in.

She said insecurity in Likoni and other parts of Mombasa was being fuelled by some politicians, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

She linked the recent attack on a cess point in Likoni, in which a county enforcement officer was killed and an Administration Police officer seriously injured, to political handouts and a lack of street lighting.

An AK47 rifle was stolen during the attack and has yet to be recovered.

The incident has prompted security operations in Likoni, with some residents speculating that a curfew has been imposed.

However, on Friday, Coast Regional Police Commander Ali Nuno denied reports that a curfew had been imposed in Likoni.

Nuno said the Likoni cess point incident was an isolated case and should be treated as such.

“It is not a reflection of the general security situation,” he said in a statement.

“The security agencies are burning the midnight oil and are fully committed to doing everything humanly possible to bring the authors of this heinous crime to book and recover the lost firearm,” Nuno said.

“There is no curfew in Likoni. Law-abiding citizens will not be affected in any way by the ongoing targeted security operations,” he added.

He urged the public to be patient and disregard the disinformation and misinformation being spread, saying it was intended to cause panic and fear.

In a separate incident, another boda boda rider, Stanley Mwaphulanga, was shot dead by unknown assailants along the Dongo Kundu bypass in the early hours of Friday.

Miraj said she was duty-bound to call out wrongdoing by government officers, despite being a ‘tutam’ crusader.

“This century is not for us as Coast residents to beg for basic amenities,” Miraj said.

She said Likoni continued to lack basic amenities, including electricity connections, despite having legislators allied to the government.

“The President has bent over backwards and invested billions of shillings. He has brought us a Sh40 billion port, which is 80 per cent complete.

“We have roads invested in Likoni. The other day, the President brought Sh73 billion for the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zones support infrastructure,” Miraj said.

However, she lamented that insecurity in Likoni threatened to render all these investments meaningless.

“My brother, Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen, we in Likoni will cry out for you. You have left us alone. Turn your neck and look at us with mercy,” Miraj said.

She noted that no parent gives birth to a child wishing that they will one day pick up a machete and slash people.

She said crime would reduce if Likoni had adequate street lighting.

“If we had enough electricity, those who slashed a county enforcement officer to death the other day would have been arrested by now because they would have been captured by private CCTV cameras,” the senator said.

She said the lack of functioning street lights in Mombasa provided cover for juvenile criminals seeking to make quick money.

Miraj pointed an accusing finger at Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir over the lack of street lighting, saying Schedule Four of the constitution placed the responsibility for street lighting on his doorstep.

“Abdulswamad, if you cannot light up the street in Likoni, then you must go,” she said.

She also said poor drainage was common in Mombasa and that heavy rains often caused flash floods.

“Whenever it rains, businesses of small-scale traders stop and children cannot go to school,” she noted. “We are tired of being taken for fools.”

Turning her attention to Likoni MP Mishi Mboko, Miraj said bringing Cabinet Secretaries to Likoni did not automatically translate into development.

“Even (Suleiman) Shakombo had a flag, but he still went home. Likoni wants real development,” said Miraj, who is eyeing the Likoni MP seat.

Mboko, however, said she could not respond to nominated members who could not mobilise crowds to vote for her.

She dismissed claims that Likoni had not experienced development, saying those with eyes could see for themselves.

Insecurity has been a growing concern in Mombasa, particularly in Kisauni and Likoni, where juvenile criminal gangs are heavily concentrated. Stakeholders are concerned that the situation could pose a challenge as the general election approaches if it is not addressed promptly.