Religious leaders in Lamu are accusing police officers of discriminating them because of wearing long beards.
The leaders claim that officers from the Anti-terror Police Unit have been harassing men with long beards and accusing them of being involved with terrorism activities.
“Osama bin Laden wore a long beard and now everyone with a long beard is being treated as him. It is not fair,” Ustadh Muhaammad Abdikadir, one of the leaders, said
Aside from beards, their mode of dressing, the Kanzus and skullcaps, has also made them to be subject of the harassments.
The leaders say that keeping beards is in accordance to the Islamic teachings and the police should not use that to judge them.
“Keeping beards to us is Sunnah because Prophet Muhammad kept his beard,” added Abdikadir.
The leader further said that many of them have been harmed especially when they lack identity cards.
Lamu is one of the parts in the country that has been been affected by terrorism activities especially in areas around the Boni Forest.
Since 2015, the government intensified operations to curb terrorism activities in the county and the neighboring Tana River and Garissa counties.
Insecurity in the region caused a number of schools and dispensaries to be closed down.
The group living around the forest has called upon the government to reopen 4 dispensaries that were shut down 8 years ago because of insecurity.
The Milimani, Basuba, Mangai and Mararani health centres were closed in 2014 after Al-Shabaab fighters damaged them in attacks that left over 100 people dead.
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