Maintain rule of law

• While the government has set up a probe into the murder of Sheikh Aboud Rogo, it should not let criminal elements take law into their own hands.
• There is no doubt that there is a third column trying to provoke sectarian violence at the coastal town. It is upon the religious leaders to tread with care and show restraint as police try to maintain order.
• Mombasa is currently a tinderbox. Beside the Al-Shabaab sympathisers prowling the back streets, there are the secessionists under the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) too.
• These are fatal elements in the economic future of the entire coastal region. Mombasa, as a gateway to eastern Africa nations, has a shaky economic foundation that can evaporate overnight.
• No amount of chaos should deter government from cracking down on any Al- Qaeda elements and Al-Shabaab sympathisers.

Mombasa County has been hit by chaos that followed the assassination of Muslim preacher and Al-Qaeda suspect Sheikh Aboud Rogo.

While the government has set up a probe into the murder, it should not let criminal elements take law into their own hands. There is no doubt that there is a third column trying to provoke sectarian violence at the coastal town. It is upon the religious leaders to tread with care and show restraint as police try to maintain order.

Mombasa is currently a tinderbox. Beside the Al-Shabaab sympathisers prowling the back streets, there are the secessionists under the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) too.

These are fatal elements in the economic future of the entire coastal region. Mombasa, as a gateway to eastern Africa nations, has a shaky economic foundation that can evaporate overnight.

The last time Mombasa witnessed such destruction was during the post-election violence, but how this latest wave of violence will jeopardise the tourism sector is still unknown.

Already, some foreign embassies have issued travel warnings to their citizens intending to travel for their Summer holidays. That is not good for Mombasa County.

Having said that, no amount of chaos should deter government from cracking down on any Al- Qaeda elements and Al-Shabaab sympathisers.

They should be brought to book. But nobody should be a target because of their religious faith. The killers of Rogo must be apprehended - in the same way the elements roaming the streets and hurling grenades at police officers. That is what the rule of law is all about.