Kenya had intelligence of the terror attacks plan

Kenya warned that terrorists linked to the al-Shabaab militia group were about to stage attacks in the East African region three days before the blasts that left 76 people dead in Kampala, Uganda.

Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetang’ula told the Associated Press that there was credible intelligence that the fighters were upping their game and appealed for help from the United States to keep the militants at bay.

The minister said in the interview with the American wire service that the situation in Somalia was “very, very dire” and that Somalia’s immediate neighbours, including Kenya, faced potential attacks from the militants.

He said that veteran insurgents from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan had relocated to Somalia in large enough numbers to worry the international community.

“There have been Afghans, there have been Pakistanis, there have been certain Middle Eastern nationalities, quite a number. Intelligence reports indicate that there’s quite a cocktail of them,” Mr Wetang’ula told The Associated Press last week.

Mr Wetang’ula has complained that the US and other rich nations are doing little to help prop the government in Somalia and to fight off the militia group.

“They spend billions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With just a small fraction of that amount, we can strengthen the TFG and capacitate them with tanks, aerial power, armoured vehicles so that they are able to secure their people. They run on a war economy,” said Mr Wetang’ula.

“A country is no country if it cannot guarantee security to its people. Somalia runs on a war economy. The US is not doing enough and is not willing to sufficiently listen to the concerns.”

Forewarn the militia

Contacted by the Sunday Nation, Mr Wetang’ula said that it would be “inappropriate” for him to disclose the information Kenyan intelligence officers have since it would forewarn the militia group.

But, asked whether the Kampala attacks would have been averted had the international community acted, he said “possibly yes”.

He spoke ahead of the African Union Summit which begins in Kampala on July 25 and whose theme of maternal and child healthcare is highly likely to be overshadowed by the events of last Sunday’s terror attack on football fans watching the World Cup final in the city.

Al-Shabaab has since claimed responsibility for the attacks.

“In the face of what happened it would be inappropriate either to the terrorist or even to us. Let’s leave it at that. We have intelligence and we are using it and perpetrators must know that no one will sit back and watch them cause mayhem,” the minister said.

The minister said that some Kenyan residents of Somali origin were under constant watch but said the country had no problem with those whose status is properly verified by authorities.

“Some are on a watch list. We are continuously on a high alert to ensure that whatever information we get . . . we must evaluate it and see how valuable it is. Even when a mad man comes in, we must look for a lucid moment in his madness,” said Mr Wetang’ula.

Somalia has been without a government since 1991 and various international efforts to establish a government in Mogadishu have largely floundered.

The Transitional Federal Government has been unable to establish its authority beyond the area protected by African Union peacekeepers and has repeatedly asked for help.

In March, three mosques in Nairobi were named in a United Nations investigation report as recruiting fighters for Somalia’s Islamist groups and their preachers marked by authorities for preaching extremist messages.

Wealthy clerics

The UN report also linked a community of wealthy clerics who also run businesses to the three mosques.

“Members of al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam travel with relative freedom to and from Nairobi, where they raise funds, engage in recruitment and obtain treatment for wounded fighters. A key pillar of this support network is a community of wealthy clerics-cum-businessmen, linked to a small number of religious centres notorious for their links to radicalism,” said the report.

The UN investigators said they received “credible, detailed and specific information” concerning one of the preacher’s participation early in 2009 in meetings with representatives of armed groups from Somalia, together with prominent members of the Eastleigh business community in Nairobi to discuss logistical issues and raise funds for the armed struggle.

The preacher – who we cannot name for legal reasons – is said to have changed his tone to support Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government.

“In January 2010, he took a step further and denounced the takfiri practice of designating other Muslims as apostates in order to justify spilling their blood, posing a direct challenge to al-Shabaab,” said the report, which has since been transmitted to the UN Security Council.

One of the preachers operating from what the UN report calls an informal centre in Eastleigh is quoted as having said in one of his sermons: “Funding the Jihad is an individual duty for every Muslim. If you cannot physically join the Jihad, then it is mandatory that you finance it. The small amounts of money collected from you for the Jihad are not donations for charity but an individual duty incumbent upon you.”

The investigators also received information that the leaders of this group hosted al-Shabaab leaders from Mogadishu on several occasions last year.

One of the key leaders of the centre is reported to be a 31-year-old cleric whom authorities believe obtained Kenyan papers by false pretence.

Another one is said to travel freely between Nairobi and Mogadishu and regularly exchanges currency notes with fellow recruiters on the Internet.

“One such (Internet) session audited by the Monitoring Group raised $20,000, to be remitted to a bank account in the United Arab Emirates. One particularly generous donor was rewarded with a promise that the next suicide bomber in Somalia would pray for her before going to his death.

During other sessions, held in the aftermath of the twin suicide bombings of the African Union peacekeeping (AMISOM) force headquarters on September 17, 2009, (the preacher) kept listeners informed of the casualty toll and thanked them for their contributions to the struggle,” says the report.

And six days to the bombing, regional heads of state under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development issued a strongly worded statement indicating that a military experts’ assessment of the situation in Somalia showed escalating violence.

The heads of state expressed serious concern that the deteriorating security situation in Somalia posed serious threat to the peace, security and stability to the people and government of Somalia, the region and the international community and called for an “urgent response to the threat”.

The coordinated explosions in Kampala followed repeated threats by al-Shabaab to strike Uganda for its contribution to the 6,100-strong AMISOM force deployed in Somalia.

Mr Wetang’ula also alluded to a possible role of Eritrea, which the UN report says has been offering help to al-Shabaab.

“It is difficult to speak with finality but the government of Eritrea has been messing up in Somalia. The African Union has recommended sanctions and the UN has sanctioned them. We believe they have no money of their own but surprisingly they are putting all this effort. There could be a third hand,” said Mr Wetang’ula.