Authorities at the Coast region are on high alert over the resurgence of the outlawed Mombasa Republican Council (MRC).
Cops spent the better part of the weekend combing Kaloleni in search of suspected MRC members who escaped a police dragnet on Saturday.
Kaloleni OCPD, Kennedy Osanda, said members of the outlawed group had begun regrouping in various parts of coast region raising serious security concerns.
He said that police were yet to establish their motivation but investigations were ongoing. On Friday last week, police acting on intelligence reports, raided a training camp in Kaya Jibana and arrested three youths who were part of more than 50 youths believed to have been undergoing an oathing exercise.
Osanda said among those arrested was a witch doctor who was carrying out the oathing exercise alongside his son. Police recovered a cache of weapons, including 10 pangas, arrows and bows as well as blood and red strips of cloth.
“We ask the public to be on the lookout for anyone who conducting burial in the area and inform the police to enable us bring to book suspects who are still at large,” he said.
Osando stated that they received information on May 9 about 60 youths who had converged inside Kaya Jibana Forest in Mulola.
“We believe they gathered for preparations to commit a crime. They were all armed with crude weapons and well-sharpened machetes,”
“Some were still sharpening the pangas while others danced to music, signs of high spirits.”
Police challenged the youths to surrender but they defied the order, so they opened fire and charged towards them in an attempt to make arrests.
“They dashed into the forest leaving behind 10 sharp machetes. Since it was dark we could not do patrol clearance,” Mr Osando said.
“We withdrew and very early on Friday (May 10), we went back to the scene and cleared it. We gathered some of the crude weapons, machetes, bows and arrows that had been left behind,” the OCPD added.
He said they arrested two of the youths and an old man they believed was their witch doctor.
“These people were prepared; they were in a training camp, ready to commit crimes against humanity.”
Mr Osando appealed to the public to report any persons seeking treatment for gunshot wounds as some of the youths were likely shot in the process of fleeing.