Somalia and Security issues in Kenya

By Hassan Ole Naado

Mistrust between security agencies and the civilian population in the frontline regions bordering Somalia may jeopardise Kenya’s military operation against the al-Shabaab militant group and even frustrate ongoing homeland security efforts.

A grassroots crisis meeting organised over the Christmas weekend by the Kenya Muslim Youth Alliance (KMYA) in collaboration with the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) to discuss the sudden rise of grenade and machinegun attacks in Garissa Town revealed that many residents of North Eastern Province are unwilling to assist the government arrest perpetrators of these attacks and even prevent some of the attacks because security agents simply ignore their input or end up victimising the very people who volunteer information.

For example, a fact-finding mission organised by KMYA in collaboration with the SUPKEM was told the brutality visited upon good Samaritans who rushed to assist security officers injured when an explosive device blew up the vehicle they were riding in around the Daadab refugee camp has discouraged local people from assisting the government in security matters.

“We fear victimisation and that is why we would rather say nothing and run away when our help is needed. Youth leaders recently reported that they came across a plant devices near the refugee camp and when they reported to the police, they were instead beaten and locked up for interrogation as suspects,” a local youth leader said.

Since Kenya deployed the military in Somalia to pursue al-Shabaab militants that have lately posed a serious threat to the country’s national security, a series of deadly grenade and improvised explosive devises (IEDs) attacks have been carried out against certain establishments and residences where close to ten people, including children and women, have been killed and wounded.

This turn of events has raised concern among grassroots leaders in Garissa, with many of them wondering what has become of Garissa—a town that was two years ago voted the safest town in East and Central Africa.

“Why have we suddenly made this about-turn on peace and security when we were just voted the most peaceful and safest town in the entire East and Central Africa region? Why have we suddenly lost our humanity and where did the rain start beating us?” posed Sheikh Abdullahi Sirat, a senior SUPKEM official who hails from Garissa.

The recent attacks have targeted people perceived to be “outsiders”, a situation KMYA and SUPKEM fear could create religious and ethnic animosity between Muslims and Christians in this region and spill-over to other parts of the country.

Security agencies and other analysts see these attacks as “revenge” carried out by al-Shabaab sympathisers in Kenya who view Kenya’s military campaign in Somalia as a Christian crusade against Muslims and Somalis.

“It is wrong and unacceptable for anyone of us to interpret the ongoing Kenya military operation in Somalia as a war against the entire Somali community and use it as an excuse to attack innocent people elsewhere. Have we suddenly forgotten that Kenya’s defence minister is one of us? So how can anyone say that the operation in Somalia is a campaign against Muslims or Somalis?” Sheikh Sirat added.

Sheikh Mohamed Salat, a local Imam, said the attacks in Garissa have a direct link to the incursion into Somalia by the Kenya’s Defence Forces (KDF) three months ago.

He said that militant youths from Somalia have since been crossing into Kenya to carry out retaliatory attacks against certain targets and that a few locals from several parts of North Eastern Province, who are sympathetic to the Al-Shabaab course, are involved in facilitating the attacks.

Sheikh Salat, however, denounced the attacks and those who facilitate them saying; “Islam itself means peace and every local resident of Garissa who claims to be a Muslim must first and foremost embrace peace.”

He said that Muslims cannot practice their religion and worship effectively in the absence of peace, and that is why it is incumbent upon all Muslims to preach peace in their communities.

“The five pillars of Islam cannot thrive where there is no peace and security, and that is why Allah has made it incumbent upon all Muslims to embrace peace and commanded Muslims to protect the weak and innocent in society including securing the safety of people of other religions,” Sheikh Salat said.

The meeting that brought together youth, women, religious and community leaders provided a platform where participants spoke candidly about the recent wave of attacks in Garissa and its environs.

Majority of participants conceded that as much as the local people bear the greatest responsibility for the attacks because they have allowed criminal elements to operate from their midst, the security agencies are also to blame for not being proactive and insisting on archaic methods of policing.

A youth representative said that the recent attacks in Garissa seem to have been carried out with a lot of sophistication, thus pointing to the fact that those who carried them out are people with advanced military training.

“The people who did these things appear to be well-trained beyond the capacity of local police. This is why the local police should seek new methods of tracking down these criminals by being proactive and not waiting for attacks to occur and then swing into action when it is already too late and start harassing innocent people,” said Aden Barre, a youth leader.

Barre added that since the conduct of Kenya security agents is very predictable, foreign elements come to Garissa to carry out attacks and sneak out knowing very well that the police will later swing into action to harass local innocent people. This, he said, has encouraged the attackers to perpetuate their criminal activities with impunity.

Another youth leader, Musa Mohamed, blamed security agents for ignoring the input of local people, saying that as long as the police continue relying on their “traditional” intelligence gathering systems, they will not get anywhere because the situation in Garissa is very dynamic and, therefore, requires thinking “outside the box.”

“The government is relying on the same old informers to gather intelligence. But today we are dealing with sophisticated criminals and that is why we need the input of local people or officers who understand the local society better in order to deal with crime in Garissa,” Mr Mohamed said.

In this regard, there is a feeling in Garissa, and the entire North Eastern region, that the government should rethink its security strategy in this region by establishing mutually beneficial structures through which local people can play a more active and beneficial role in policing activities.

They said that lack of arrests and arraignment in court of suspected perpetrators of the Garissa attacks showed lack of concern by the government hence encouraging more attacks.

“We expected swift action in arresting and arraigning in court of the people who carried out attacks in Garissa the way the police have done in similar situations in Nairobi and Mombasa. But given that nobody has been arrested for the Garissa attacks, we believe the government does not care or is not serious,” said Sheikh Salat.

They also said that the long history of exclusion has created lack of interest by the local community to cooperate with government in security matters. The icy relationship between locals and the government machinery had made it difficult for a bigger population to volunteer information on criminal activities to the authorities not because they fear to give such information, but because they lack confidence in the government machinery.

The youth said they were not involved in security arrangements in the region yet they are the ones who bear the brunt of police operations whenever there is an attack. According to them, the kind of attacks being carried out in Garissa, including the explosions targeted at security personnel in the refugee camps in Daadab and Ifo, are undertaken with the sophistication that is beyond the comprehension of traditional security communities. Hence, there is a need to incorporate young people in these security committees so that they can bring on board new skills of tracking down such sophisticated criminals.

Because of the apathy they have towards government machinery, the youth also admitted that some young people are being recruited into terror groups where they feel they are more useful.

But despite the challenges, participants resolved to use their grassroots networks and influence to restore and protect peace in Garissa, pointing out that there is no excuse whatsoever for someone or a group of people to create instability in Garissa.

“We must restore and protect the pride of Garissa as the safest and most peaceful town, and that is why all of us must work together,” said Sheikh Sirat.

He conceded that the attacks targeted at certain people perceived to be “outsiders” were placing the town on a dangerous trajectory and called upon the government to support the peace efforts being initiated by local leaders.

The writer is the Deputy Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM)

For further information and details, do not hesitate to contact me directly on my mobile phone number 0722 773 880 or 0732 773 880.