Mosques that were closed in Mombasa to be reopened. They will now be managed by elders

For more than week, Masjid Musa and Masjid Sakina in Mombasa’s Majengo area as well as Swafaa and Mina in Kisauni have been under lock and key and sealed off as a crime scene

In a bid to see an end to the standoff brought about by the closure of the four mosques, a delegation of Muslim leaders from Jamia mosque in Nairobi met leaders from the Supreme Council of Muslim on Wednesday in Mombasa. They also met with Mombasa county political leaders, community leaders and some leaders from the closed mosques.

After hours of deliberations at the closed door meeting, the leaders made several resolutions. Top on the list was a request to all Muslims to respect the Mosques. They also resolved that all mosques will be handed over and managed by the community elders in their respective areas.

The community elders will now administer the affairs of the mosques as well as other issues such as resolving of conflicts among the faithful. Mombasa governor Hassan Joho said that the national government and his county government will make sure there is adequate security in all mosques to ensure that they are not taken over by criminals. He added that any criminal activities or misuse of mosques will not be tolerated.

In related news, 13 suspects who were arrested during a raid at Masjid Musa last week will remain in custody for seven more days as police complete investigations in to terrorism related charges. Magistrate Justus Kituku allowed the prosecution’s application to give police more time to analyze electronic gadgets and other materials that were confiscated so as to bring proper charges against the 13.

So far, 225 people out of the 258 suspects who are arrested during the operation in Mvita sub-county last week have been released.