A group of youth advocates was reportedly attacked and dispersed by suspected goons while presenting a memorandum at the Mombasa County Assembly on Wednesday, August 12.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

According to VOCAL Africa Chief Executive Officer Hussein Khalid, the group had visited the assembly to mark International Youth Day, pushing for the implementation of the Mombasa County Youth Policy.

“As we were marking the International Day of Youth in Mombasa today, VOCAL Africa and partners went to present a memorandum to the Speaker of the County Assembly of Mombasa, and instead of being received, they were met with goons who beat up and injured several of the human rights defenders,” he wrote in a statement.

VOCAL Africa said a group of people arrived during the engagement and assaulted several members of the delegation.

📌 What You Need to Know

Images from the scene show that the organisation’s communications officer, Omar Ahmed, was among those injured, sustaining a head wound that left him bleeding.

In addition, a video reviewed by Kenyans.co.ke showed a confrontation outside the assembly, with some individuals pushing and throwing punches at members of the advocacy group near the entrance.

Another video showed several men carrying what appeared to be long sticks as the gathering was disrupted.

VOCAL Africa has appealed to members of the public to help identify the individuals captured in the footage while condemning the incident and calling for those responsible to be held accountable.

The organisation said it would pursue available legal avenues over the alleged assault on the youth advocates.

The incident comes amid wider concerns over the use of groups of young people to disrupt civic and political activities in different parts of the country.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke