“We can no longer stand before the public and assure them that the security is being beefed up,” were the words of Mandera County Governor Ali Roba in an address on March 16, 2015 in Nairobi.
In the conference, Roba had no better words for the Kenya security operatives whom he accused of neglecting the fragile Somali boarder region under his government. Governor Roba by March 16 had survived six assassination attempts on his life reportedly by Al Shabaab.
Mandera is neighbor to Garissa county, the home county of Garissa University College, in the former Northeastern province, where a heartless slaughter of over 150 people took place on Thursday in broad day reportedly by the Somali based Islamist hardline militants Al Shabaab at a barrel of a gun.
Mr. Roba reignited the public opinion that; if state had no capacity to protect their own, there was then no reason to continue with an operation in the war torn horn of Africa state, a reason the Al Shabaab group has based on to attack Kenya and threatened the rest of the regional states especially Uganda.
“The government has a responsibility to protect the whole country, and there is no need for it to keep soldiers (in Somalia) to protect Somalis instead of protecting Kenyans,” he added. This debate never started with Governor Roba. Some schools of thought assert that the idea of deploying of the men and women in uniform by Uganda, Burundi and Kenya among other continental powers to help pacify the war torn Somalia had a big bare in it.
This monster, it is said has since given the region sleepless nights. Kenya Deputy President William Samoei Ruto in an earlier statement defended the state position. The Somali mission he said was a noble role for nations of good will especially in the region and Africa as a whole.
“As African leaders, we should be in the frontline helping our brothers and sisters in Somalia…We can be limited in capacity but not in the willingness to assist,” Ruto noted.
To authenticate his word, Mr. Ruto promised to establish an embassy in Somalia as a way of sealing the philanthropy.
“We are willing to share our expertise in infrastructure development, in education and in training the police in our efforts in stabilizing Somalia,” Mr Ruto was speaking after a talk with President of the South Western state of Somalia Shar, Hassan Sheikh Adan, who visited him at his official residence in Karen.
But DP Ruto as fondly known by his acolytes and supporters knew well the effort could come with a price namely a chunk of resources to part with as a way of giving capacity to a state to handle the consequences especially in security terms. Analysts assert that the placement of a Ksh 20 million, about bounty on suspected Garissa University siege mastermind Mohammed Kuno is a clear indication that state had known of their assailants and failed to act on the information obtained from their own reconnaissance.
Police say Kuno commands the militia along the border and is responsible for cross-border incursions in the country. In the recent past, he has intensified attacks in Northern Kenya and the Coast region, particularly Garissa, Mandera and Lamu, according to a statement that followed the bounty
Kuno is believed to be very religious and has been a madarasa teacher for several years. He worked for Al-Haramain Foundation between 1993 and 1995 before the institution was closed. At the time, he was known as Sheikh Mahamad. .He thereafter joined Al-Shabaab after being motivated by the ideology of the Islamic Courts Union to establish an Islamic statehood in Somalia.
Police adds that he holds three aliases: Sheikh Mahamad, Dulyadin and Gamadhere. The document notes most of “Sheik Mahamad’s” recruits are family members and former students of Madarasa Najah. He is also known to have an extensive terrorist network within Kenya, particularly at the Dadaab refugee camp.
“How then can a hardliner trailed to that level remain elusive to state security? These people should take full responsibility” Jared Odero, a student of literature and philosophy at Egerton University wonders.
According to Kenya president Uhuru Kenyatta, the attack is a result of lack of security personnel to pacify the nation. He has since called on the police, to turn down a court order that had barred the institution from recruiting 10,000 men force to control the situation with immediate effect
“We have suffered unnecessarily due to shortage of security personnel. Kenya badly needs additional officers, and I will not keep the nation waiting,” Uhuru noted in an address yesterday as the nation grieved the attack.
“I further direct the Inspector-General of Police to take urgent steps and ensure that the 10,000 recruits, whose enrollment is pending, promptly report for training at the Kenya Police College, Kiganjo.”
To the young men and women who according to Kenyan Ex-premier and Leader of Opposition Cord Coalition Raila Odinga were “beaming with hope for themselves and their country, which they certainly hoped to help change and develop”, May their souls rest in peace!
By Amos Desmond Wambi
