OWN CORRESPONDENT, Nairobi | Monday 9.15pm.
TENSION is rising in Kenya over the government’s decision last week to shut down five Moslem non-governmental organisations as retaliation for the August bombing of the United States embassy in the capital, Nairobi.
Kenyan Muslim organisations are claiming that US pressure led to the ban and that Muslims NGOs were singled out because US authorities claim the bombing was masterminded by Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden, a militant Muslim.
The Supreme Council of Kenya Moslems (Supkem) on Monday threatened mass action against the government, while a dozen Moslem members of parliament have warned of dire consequences if the order is not retracted.
MPs are accusing the government of harassment and claiming it ordered four of the NGOs’ executive officers to leave the country within seven days. “We see this as very unfair; it is a communal punishment for the Muslims,” Minister for Rural Development Hussein Maalim said.
Maalim said the government has also frozen the organisations’ bank accounts. Supkem has warned mass action should the government order not be rescinded and has invited all Moslem organisations and imams to a meeting in Nairobi on Tuesday to discuss a plan of action.