The Rotary Club in Mombasa has accused youths of negatively using social media to escalate the violence that rocked the Coastal city after the killing of Muslim cleric Aboud Rogo on Monday. Club president Sureya Hersi said the violence has been fuelled by youths through Facebook and Twitter.
She said rumour-mongering played a part in the spread of the violence from Majengo to other parts of Mombasa including Kisauni, Mlaleo, Mwandoni, Bakarani and Mtopanga, all in Kisauni constituency. Hersi said it is not Muslims who burnt churches, but idle youths who took advantage of the situation.
The Rotarians condemned the killing of Rogo and the attacks on churches. They also condemned the killing of three prison officers. "An eye for an eye will only end up making the world go blind," she said, quoting the famous words of Mahatma Gandhi. The presidents of Rotary clubs in Mtwapa, Bahari and Mombasa North Coast clubs James Kimani, Muntazir Amir and Timothy Bore respectively called for calm in Mombasa.
Meanwhile, the Coast Civil Society Organisation called on religious leaders to control the youths and ensure there is no further violence. The organization, comprising of different NGOs in Mombasa, expressed dismay in the way the police handled the situation in Mombasa.
The said Police Comissioner Mathew Iteere issued reckless statement that only irked the youths further. They said Iteere was too quick to absolve the police from blame over Rogo's killing instead of waiting for conclusive investigations. The NGOs included Ujamaa Centre, Reachout Centre Trust, Clarion, Kenya Muslim Youth Alliance, CIPK, Muhuri, among others.
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I couldn't agree with you more. There's one muslim radical who was calling for the killing of pastors in Mombasa on twitter. We can only handle this through monitoring social media and working hand in hand with the police and all the other stakeholders by restoring sanity online. We've also seen pages with sexual content on Facebook that are very immoral. Social media shall also play a great role in the next elections and can be misused to incite Kenyans against each other. The tremendous growth of social media in business and communication in Kenya has necessitated us to conceptualize and spearhead the formation of social media clubs dubbed (SocialPro clubs) in universities across the country. These clubs will bring together different social media enthusiasts, speakers,lecturers, bloggers, industry experts, digital agencies and organizations who have immensely contributed to the growth of social media in Kenya. SocialPro clubs will also create a platform that will enhance product and consumer engagement through creativity and innovation. Subsequently we shall also launch SocialPro clubs for corporates, professionals and individuals at a Five Star Hotel in Nairobi (venue yet to be confirmed) At Social Edge Africa we felt concerned at conceptualized and spearheaded the formation of social media clubs to educate and sensitize people on social media etiquette,engaging online among other things.
This programme is endorsed by the ministry of information and technology and the Kenya ICT board. Dr. Bitange Ndemo; the PS Ministry of Information and Communication will be the chief guest at the launch of the social media clubs on the 25th of September at the University of Nairobi, School of Business. To be part of this vision as a partner, sponsor, be part of the team or support this idea please send an email to Nateford@socialedge.co.ke